A β-D-N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAcβ) ligand equipped with a thiol-functionalized linker through a short ethyl spacer. The thiol group can be reacted with other thiol-modified substrates to form disulfide bonds, or reacted with maleimides to form stable thioether conjugates. This compound provides a β-N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAcβ) building block for glycoconjugate synthesis and the construction of probes for GlcNAc-recognizing proteins, including lectins and antibodies. It is also relevant to O-GlcNAc and N-glycan biosynthesis research and serves as a substrate for galactosyltransferases and other glycosyltransferases.