Carbohydrate microarrays for assaying galactosyltransferase activity

Glycoarrays--tools for determining protein-carbohydrate interactions and glycoenzyme specificity

Carbohydrate arrays (glycoarrays) have recently emerged as a high-throughput tool for studying carbohydrate-binding proteins and carbohydrate-processing enzymes. A number of sophisticated array platforms that allow for qualitative and quantitative analysis of carbohydrate binding and modification on the array surface have been developed, including analysis by fluorescence spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. These platforms, together with examples of biologically-relevant applications are reviewed in this Feature Article.

Carbohydrate arrays as tools for research and diagnostics

In a very short time, carbohydrate microarrays have become important tools to investigate binding events that involve sugars. High throughput analysis of carbohydrate interactions with a wide range of binding partners, including proteins, RNA, whole cells and viruses, can be performed. Questions ranging from simple binding events to in-depth kinetic analysis can be addressed. This tutorial review summarizes methods to produce carbohydrate microarrays as well as their use. Some selected examples illustrate applications and the potential that these tools hold.

Glycan arrays: biological and medical applications

Carbohydrates and their conjugates are involved in various biological events, including viral and bacterial infection, the immune response, differentiation and development, and the progression of tumor cell metastasis. Glycan arrays are a new technology that has enabled the high-sensitivity and rapid analysis carbohydrate–protein interaction and contribute to significant advances in glycomics. Glycan arrays use a minute amount of materials and can be used for high-throughput profiling and quantitative analysis and provide information for the development of carbohydrate-based vaccines and new drug discovery.