Probing the general time scale question of boronic acid binding with sugars in aqueous solution at physiological pH

A stopped-flow method was used for the first time to study kinetic properties of binding between boronic acids and various sugars. For all the boronic acid-diol pairs examined, reactions were complete within minutes. The kon values with various sugars follow the order of d-fructose > d-tagatose > d-mannose > d-glucose. The 'on' rate is the key determining factor of the binding constant.