Aminoglycoside-polyamines are disclosed along with methods of use thereof in displacement chromatography and as DNA-binding ligands. The aminoglycoside-polyamines are derivatives of carbohydrates, such as sugars, amino sugars, deoxysugars, glycosides, nucleosides and their substituted counterparts. The subject polyamines possess a group in place of at least one hydrogen atom of at least one hydroxyl group of the carbohydrate compound. In these compounds R.sup.1 is an alkyl group or an azaalkyl group, and R.sup.2 is a primary or secondary amino group.