Glycans, complex carbohydrates, are ubiquitously found on cell surfaces and secreted molecules, playing pivotal roles in fundamental biological processes such as cell-cell recognition, intercellular communication, immune modulation, and host-pathogen interactions. Unlike the static nature of the genome, the glycome is highly dynamic, reflecting cellular states and environmental responses, making it a critical layer of biological information. At CD BioGlyco, our state-of-the-art glycomics platform is engineered to precisely address these complexities, providing comprehensive and accurate solutions for deciphering the intricate world of glycans, thereby accelerating breakthrough discoveries across various research and development sectors.

Key Technologies

• Mass spectrometry (MS): MS is the primary analytical tool for glycomics, used for identifying and quantifying glycans. It measures the mass-to-charge ratio of molecules, providing highly precise information about their molecular weight and elemental composition.
• High-resolution chromatographic separation: Used to separate a complex mixture of glycans into individual components before they are introduced into a mass spectrometer.
• Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR): NMR is a non-destructive technique that provides data on the anomeric configuration, linkage positions, and stereochemistry of the sugar residues.

Comprehensive Glycomics Solutions

CD BioGlyco offers a comprehensive suite of glycomics services, tailored to meet diverse research and industrial needs. Our capabilities span the entire spectrum of glycan analysis, providing deep insights into these critical biomolecules.

We focus on the efficient and selective liberation of glycans from their parent molecules, which is a critical first step in comprehensive glycomic analysis. We employ a range of highly optimized methods to ensure maximal glycan recovery and minimize degradation.

• Enzymatic Release

Utilizing highly specific enzymes, we selectively cleave various glycan types. This includes the enzymatic release of N-glycans (common on glycoproteins), fucose, galactose, N-acetylgalactosamine, O-glycosylated proteins, Core-1 O-glycans, and sialic acid, ensuring precise targeting of specific glycosidic linkages.

• Chemical Release

Our platform offers robust chemical release methods. These are carefully controlled to ensure complete liberation while preserving the structural integrity of the released glycans.

• Capillary electrophoresis (CE)

This high-resolution technique separates glycans based on their charge-to-mass ratio, offering excellent efficiency for profiling charged glycan species.

• Reversedphase liquid chromatography (RPLC)

Often coupled with MS, RPLC provides an orthogonal separation mechanism, particularly useful for separating derivatized glycans or glycopeptides based on their hydrophobicity.

• Hydrophili cInteraction Chromatography (HILIC)

A cornerstone for glycan separation, HILIC effectively resolves polar glycans based on their size, charge, and composition, providing high-resolution profiles.

• Porous Graphitized Carbon (PGC)

PGC chromatography separates glycans based on hydrophobic and polar interactions, offering unique selectivity, especially valuable for separating isomeric and anomeric glycans.

• Lectin Enrichment

This targeted approach uses specific lectins to selectively enrich for glycans containing particular carbohydrate motifs, allowing for focused analysis of specific glycan populations.

• Reducing End Derivation Service

Labeling the reducing end of glycans with fluorescent tags (e.g., 2-AB, 2-AA) or mass tags (e.g., permethylation) improves detection sensitivity and facilitates their analysis by MS.

• Hydroxyl Group Derivation Service

Modification of hydroxyl groups enhance glycan volatility or fragmentation patterns in MS, providing more detailed structural information.

• Sialic Acid Derivation Service

Specific derivatization strategies for sialic acids are employed to stabilize these labile residues and improve their detection and quantification, crucial for studying their roles in disease and immune regulation.

• Glycan Profiling

We offer detailed profiling of the glycan landscape within your samples. This includes specific profiling for N-glycans and O-glycans, leveraging highly sensitive MS-based methods for comprehensive structural identification, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for robust separation and quantification, and lectin-based technologies for high-throughput screening of glycan motifs and their interactions.

• Glycan Sequencing

Our advanced techniques allow for the precise determination of the monosaccharide sequence within complex glycans, providing critical information about their linear and branched arrangements.

• Glycan Structure Analysis

Beyond profiling and sequencing, we delve into the intricate details of glycan structures, including isoform analysis (distinguishing between structurally similar but biologically distinct glycan isomers) and spatial organization analysis (investigating the three-dimensional arrangement and presentation of glycans on surfaces or molecules).

• Isotopic Labeling Strategies

To achieve highly accurate and reproducible quantification, we employ various isotopic labeling approaches. This includes metabolic labeling (incorporating isotopically labeled monosaccharides during biosynthesis), chemical labeling (chemically attaching stable isotope tags to released glycans), and enzymatic catalyzed labeling (using enzymes to incorporate labeled sugars).

• Label-free Strategies

For certain applications, label-free quantification methods are employed, leveraging advanced mass spectrometry techniques and bioinformatics algorithms to compare glycan abundances without isotopic tags.

• Quantitative Characterization of Saccharides

This service provides precise quantification of specific saccharide components, including quantitative monosaccharide analysis (determining the individual monosaccharide composition), quantitative polysaccharide analysis (quantifying larger polysaccharide structures), and quantitative polysialic acid analysis (specifically measuring polysialic acid, which plays critical roles in neurodevelopment and cancer).

Beyond traditional glycan analysis, CD BioGlyco offers flow cytometry profiling for investigating cell surface glycans. This technique allows for the rapid and high-throughput analysis of glycosylation patterns on individual cells, enabling studies of cellular differentiation, activation, and disease progression, particularly useful for characterizing immune cells and cancer cells.

Workflow

Publication Data

Associated Services

Applications

• Biomarker discovery: Identifying novel glycan biomarkers for early detection, prognosis, and monitoring of diseases such as cancer, inflammatory disorders, metabolic diseases, and neurodegenerative conditions.
• Drug discovery and development: Accurate glycan analysis is paramount for characterizing therapeutic proteins (e.g., monoclonal antibodies, fusion proteins). Glycosylation profoundly affects drug efficacy, half-life, immunogenicity, and stability. Our services ensure comprehensive glycoprofiling for biosimilar development, quality control, and understanding pharmacodynamics.
• Vaccine development: Understanding the glycosylation of pathogens and host cells is critical for developing effective vaccines. Glycomics helps in characterizing microbial glycans as vaccine targets and analyzing the glycan modifications on vaccine components or host immune responses to vaccination.
• Cell biology and development: Glycans mediate crucial cell-cell interactions, cellular signaling, and differentiation processes. We help unravel the roles of glycans in fundamental biological events, including embryonic development, stem cell differentiation, and tissue regeneration.

Advantages

• Comprehensive analytical capabilities: We integrate a wide range of state-of-the-art instruments, including advanced MS, NMR. This comprehensive suite allows us to tackle even the most challenging glycan analyses.
• Seasoned glycomics experts: Our team comprises highly experienced scientists with deep, specialized knowledge in glycoscience, analytical chemistry, and bioinformatics. Their extensive background ensures that every project is handled with the utmost scientific rigor, from experimental design to data interpretation.
• Exceptional sensitivity and accuracy: CD BioGlyco is equipped to analyze even low-abundance glycan samples with high precision and reproducibility. Our optimized protocols and advanced instrumentation minimize sample loss and maximize detection, providing highly reliable and accurate quantitative and qualitative data.
• Robust and quality-controlled workflow: We adhere to stringent quality control measures at every stage of the glycomics workflow, from sample handling and preparation to data acquisition and analysis. This systematic approach guarantees the integrity, consistency, and reliability of your results.

Frequently Asked Questions

At CD BioGlyco, our glycomics platform represents a culmination of advanced analytical technologies, scientific expertise, and a deep understanding of glycoscience. We are dedicated to empowering researchers and industry professionals with precise, reliable, and comprehensive glycan analysis services. Please feel free to contact us; our expert team is eager to discuss your specific project requirements and provide a tailored solution.