An α-D-mannose 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 an α-D-mannose building block for glycoconjugate synthesis and the construction of probes for mannose-recognizing receptors and lectins, including the mannose receptor (CD206) and DC-SIGN, with relevance to immune targeting and pathogen-recognition research.