An α-D-galactose ligand equipped with a terminal carboxylic acid through a short butyl spacer. The carboxylic acid can be activated to NHS, sulfo-NHS, or pentafluorophenyl (PFP) esters and reacted with amine-functionalized platforms or lysine residues on proteins and peptides to form stable amide bonds. This compound provides an α-anomeric galactose building block for glycoconjugate synthesis, glycomimetic research, and the construction of probes for galactose-recognizing proteins, including galectins and other carbohydrate-binding lectins. Terminal α-Gal residues are also a substrate for glycosyltransferases and relevant to studies of the α-Gal epitope (Galα1-3Gal) and anti-Gal antibody recognition.