A β-D-lactose ligand equipped with a free thiol through a hydrophilic PEG3 spacer. The thiol reacts with maleimides to form stable thioether conjugates or with other thiols to form disulfide bonds; it is also compatible with thiol-gold chemistry for surface immobilization. This compound provides a lactose (Galβ1-4Glc) building block for glycoconjugate synthesis and the construction of probes for galactose-recognizing proteins, including galectins and the hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor; it is a substrate for sialyltransferases and other glycosyltransferases.