The present invention provides novel antimicrobial agents that are quaternary ammonium functionalized glycodendrimers. In one embodiment, the quaternary ammonium functionalized glycodendrimers are compounds of Formula (I): (Q+−-S-L)z-DnX− wherein: D is a dendrimer； n is the generation number of the functionalized dendrimer； z is an integer less than or equal to 2(n+2)； L is a linking group； Q+ represents a quaternary ammonium moiety； and S represents a carbohydrate moiety. The present invention further provides formulations containing the antimicrobial agents of the invention, methods of making the agents and formulations of the invention, and methods of using the same as effective and/or broad spectrum antimicrobial agents. The agents and formulations of the invention find use in medicine, for the treatment of various inflammatory conditions or diseases, for example, and have numerous industrial applications.(Q+−-S-L)z-DnX− (I)
