The synthesis and application of glycocluster and glycodendrimer with pentaerythritol derivatives as scaffolds are reviewed. It is very suitable for pentaerythritol derivatives to be applied to synthesize new glycocluster and glycodendrimer because of their special structural characters. Owing to the versatile application of pentaerythritol derivatives to organic synthesis, a lot of organic synthesis methods are able to be used in preparation of the new kind of glycoconjugate.

Key words: pentaerythritol derivative, glycodendrimer, multivalent effect, glycocluster