Synthesis of glycoconjugates by covalent coupling of O-glycopyranosyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide derivatives of lactose to proteins and lipids and polymerization of their parent acryloyl derivatives into acrylamide polymers.

Glycosides of N-hydroxysuccinimide have been synthesized and the succinimide moieties have been opened by amines to give glycolipids or spacer-glycosides. The latter have been coupled to proteins and, after acryloylation, copolymerized into acrylamide polymers. A 13C-NMR study of the stability of the anomeric O-N-C(O) linkage showed the linkage to be stable under conditions used in most biological experiments.