The Glycan Microarray Story from Construction to Applications

Abstract

Not only are glycan-mediated binding processes in cells and organisms essential for a wide range of physiological processes, but they are also implicated in various pathological processes. As a result, elucidation of glycan-associated biomolecular interactions and their consequences is of great importance in basic biological research and biomedical applications. In 2002, we and others were the first to utilize glycan microarrays in efforts aimed at the rapid analysis of glycan-associated recognition events. Because they contain a number of glycans immobilized in a dense and orderly manner on a solid surface, glycan microarrays enable multiple parallel analyses of glycan-protein binding events while utilizing only small amounts of glycan samples. Therefore, this microarray technology has become a leading edge tool in studies aimed at elucidating roles played by glycans and glycan binding proteins in biological systems. In this Account, we summarize our efforts on the construction of glycan microarrays and their applications in studies of glycan-associated interactions. Immobilization strategies of functionalized and unmodified glycans on derivatized glass surfaces are described. Although others have developed immobilization techniques, our efforts have focused on improving the efficiencies and operational simplicity of microarray construction. The microarray-based technology has been most extensively used for rapid analysis of the glycan binding properties of proteins. In addition, glycan microarrays have been employed to determine glycan-protein interactions quantitatively, detect pathogens, and rapidly assess substrate specificities of carbohydrate-processing enzymes. More recently, the microarrays have been employed to identify functional glycans that elicit cell surface lectin-mediated cellular responses. Owing to these efforts, it is now possible to use glycan microarrays to expand the understanding of roles played by glycans and glycan binding proteins in biological systems.

Meningococcal Vaccines: Current Status and Emerging Strategies

“…This time-consuming process involves (as described in Section 3.1 ) synthesis of various oligomer lengths, attachment to a carrier protein and assessment of the immune response generated. Recent advances have been made in improving the sensitivity and reliability of carbohydrate microarray technology so this method could be applied to N. meningitidis vaccine development in the future [ 87 ]. Microarrays could dramatically streamline the discovery process because carbohydrate antigens would first be chemically attached to a microarray plate and then tested for immune response using clinically derived serogroup-specific antibodies in a high-throughput format.…”

Biophysical Analyses for Probing Glycan-Protein Interactions

“…In NGL technology, lipid-conjugated oligosaccharides prepared from natural sources or chemically synthesized are immobilized onto nitrocellulose-coated microarray slides (Palma et al 2014). In covalent immobilization, various chemical reactions have been developed (Hyun et al 2017). Among them, the conjugation reaction using amine-linked glycans is most widely used, and the Consortium for Functional Glycomics uses this chemistry for a glycan microarray platform (Fig.…”

Amplified Electrochemical Aptasensor for Sialic Acid Based on Carbon‐Cloth‐Supported Gold Nanodendrites and Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles

“…Glycans on the external cell surface play important roles in various biological processes, such as immune response, intercellular interactions, and microbial infection. [1,2] Sialic acid (SA) as one of the key constituents in these glycans, is a generic name for the 9-carbon carboxylated monosaccharide, and is typically found at the termini of these glycan chains. [3,4] Nacetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) is the major form of SA in human bodies, and thereinafter SA will represent Neu5Ac.…”