Intracellular Delivery of Hydrophilic Glycans Using Superchaotropic Clusters

ABSTRACT

The intracellular delivery of glycans is a significant challenge. Glycan delivery is typically achieved by per‐acetylation necessitating the use of the cytotoxic carrier solvent DMSO, or complex nanoscale delivery devices, to transit across the cell membrane. Here we deploy superchaotropic boron clusters to unlock solvent‐free intracellular delivery of azido‐glycans, as well as trehalose. The cluster B ₁₂ Br ₁₂ ^2– delivered glycans into suspension and adherent cells, enabling successful metabolic oligosaccharide labelling and bioconjugation of glycoproteins, cell surface glycans, and also glycosylated‐RNA. This approach offers a practical and operationally simple solution to the challenge of glycan intracellular delivery and removes the cytotoxic impact of solvents.