How do multivalent glycodendrimers benefit from sulfur chemistry?

Sulfur-containing glycodendrimers have steadily emerged over a few decades and this review describes the first survey of this field. Although the contribution of sulfur chemistry to glycodendrimers could be seen at the moment as a development of various linking strategies, there is more than synthesis because the presence of sulfur itself modulates unique photophysical and electrochemical properties. This fact has long been recognized in materials science, for instance. Emphasis on the numerous advantages of sulfur in glycosylated dendrimers is thus put forward in this review. The synergy between sulfur, dendrimers, and carbohydrate chemistry conveys novel synthetic avenues, properties, and applications toward innovative perspectives in chemistry, glycobiology, materials science and nanoscience, with a particular significance for biosensors.