| abstract |
The present invention includes polymerizable monomers comprising a fucoside moiety. In one embodiment, the monomer has a polymerizable functional group, such as an olefinic bond, to which the fucoside moiety is attached by a spacer group, for example, an alkylene group, or an alkylene group wherein one or more carbon atoms are substituted by heteroatoms, such as oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atoms. The present invention also includes polymers comprising one or more fucoside moieties, such as pendant fucoside moieties, which can inhibit or prevent rotavirus infection in a mammal. Such a polymer can comprise, for example, a monomer of the present invention. The polymer can be a homopolymer or a copolymer, and can have, for example, a polyacrylamide, polyacrylate or polystyrene backbone. In another embodiment, the present invention comprises a method for treating a rotavirus infection in a mammal, for example, a human, by administering to the mammal a therapeutically effective amount of a polymer comprising one or more glycoside moieties, such as pendant glycoside moieties. The glycoside moieties can be, for example, fucoside moieties or sialic acid moieties. The polymer can be a homopolymer or a copolymer. In one embodiment, the polymer is a copolymer comprising a glycoside-bearing monomer and a hydrophobic monomer. In another embodiment, the polymer to be administered comprises two or more different glycoside-bearing monomers. |