(77)Se-Enriched Selenoglycoside Enables Significant Enhancement in NMR Spectroscopic Monitoring of Glycan–Protein Interactions

Detailed investigation of ligand–protein interactions is essential for better understanding of biological processes at the molecular level. Among these binding interactions, the recognition of glycans by lectins is of particular importance in several diseases, such as cancer; therefore, inhibition of glycan-lectin/galectin interactions represents a promising perspective towards developing therapeutics controlling cancer development. The recent introduction of (77)Se NMR spectroscopy for monitoring the binding of a selenoglycoside to galectins prompted interest to optimize the sensitivity by increasing the (77)Se content from the natural 7.63% abundance to 99%. Here, we report a convenient synthesis of (77)Se-enriched selenodigalactoside (SeDG), which is a potent ligand of the medically relevant human galectin-3 protein, and proof of the expected sensitivity gain in 2D (1)H, (77)Se correlation NMR experiments. Our work opens perspectives for adding isotopically enriched selenoglycans for rapid monitoring of lectin-binding of selenated as well as non-selenated ligands and for ligand screening in competition experiments.