Carbohydrate recognition is one of the most sophisticated recognition processes in biological systems, mediating many important aspects of cell-cell recognition, such as inflammation, cell differentiation, and metastasis. Consequently, lectin-glycan interactions have been intensively studied in order to mimic their actions for potential bioanalytical and biomedical applications. Galectins, a class of ß-galactoside-specific animal lectins, have been strongly implicated in inflammation and cancer. Galectin-3 is involved in carbohydrate-mediated metastatic cell heterotypic and homotypic adhesion via interaction with Thomsen-Friedenreich (TF) antigen on cancer-associated MUC1. However, the precise mechanism by which galectin-3 recognizes TF antigen is poorly understood. Our thermodynamic studies have shown that the presentation of the carbohydrate ligand by MUC1-based peptide scaffolds can have a major impact on recognition, and may facilitate the design of more potent and specific galectin-3 inhibitors that can be used as novel chemical tools in dissecting the precise role of galectin-3 in cancer and inflammatory diseases. Another lectin, odorranalectin (OL), has been recently identified from Odorrana grahami skin secretions as the smallest cyclic peptide lectin, has a particular selectivity for L-fucose and very low toxicity and immunogenicity, rendering OL an excellent candidate for drug delivery to targeted sites, such as: (1) tumor-associated fucosylated antigens implicated in the pathogenesis of several cancers, for overcoming the nonspecificity of most anticancer agents; (2) the olfactory epithelium of nasal mucosa for enhanced delivery of peptide-based drugs to the brain. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015.