Designing multivalent ligands to control biological interactions: From vaccines and cellular effectors to targeted drug delivery

Abstract

Multivalent interactions in which multiple ligands on one object bind to multiple receptors on another are commonly found in natural biological systems. In addition, these interactions can lead to increased strength and selectivity when compared to the corresponding monovalent interaction. These attributes have also guided the design of synthetic multivalent ligands to control biological interactions. This review will highlight the recent literature describing the use of multivalent ligand display in the design of vaccines, immunomodulators, cell signaling effectors, and vehicles for targeted drug delivery.