Overview

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are important for infant health, but the research of the specific functions and interactions of these glycans is still limited to a large extent. The advanced HMO glycan microarray developed by CD BioGlyco is used to help our customers carry out research on glycan-binding proteins and antibodies to accelerate the progress of their projects.

Background

Human milk contains numerous biologically active components such as hormones, immunoglobulins, oligosaccharides, and others. It provides an ideal nutritional balance for infants. HMOs are the third most abundant solid component in human milk, after lactose and lipids. They are a complex group of structurally and biologically diverse indigestible glycans that are unique to human milk. They protect newborns from infection and disease, build healthy intestinal bacteria, and are important for the development of the infant's brain, gut, and immune system.

Given the significance of HMOs to infant health, a growing number of researchers have carried out studies to determine their protein receptors in humans and those associated with bacterial and viral pathogens. Currently, the shotgun and defined human milk glycan (HMG) microarrays developed by Cummings and colleagues represent the primary technique for assessing the HMO-binding specificities of lectins.

Key Technologies

Our service is built upon a proprietary platform that leverages high-density microarray technology. We have curated a comprehensive library of structurally defined HMOs, which are meticulously immobilized onto a solid substrate. This creates a high-throughput assay capable of screening a target molecule against a broad spectrum of HMO structures simultaneously.

One Chip, Infinite Insights: HMO Complexity Unlocked.

CD BioGlyco provides HMO microarray technology services for the study of glycan-binding proteins and antibodies to deeply understand the functions of HMOs and their binding partners. We use a chemoenzymatic synthetic method to develop a library containing multiple HMOs to provide a set of targets with significant structural diversity, and the library is immobilized on microarray slides for high-throughput screening. We screen with carbohydrates to identify proteins involved in inflammation and disease, followed by using in vitro models to examine the therapeutic efficacy of identified leads, providing valuable information forin vivo animal studies and preclinical development.

Workflow

• Sample Submission

Clients provide your sample, which can be a purified protein, antibody, or a complex mixture such as serum, cell lysates, or a microbial sample.

• Sample Preparation and Labeling

While our primary platform is label-free, we also offer a standard fluorescence-based assay for certain applications. Samples are prepared and, if necessary, labeled with a fluorescent or enzyme-based marker.

• Array Incubation and Binding Reaction

The prepared sample is incubated with the HMO microarray under optimized conditions to facilitate specific binding events. Our real-time detection capabilities allow for the direct observation of these interactions as they occur.

• Data Acquisition and Analysis

For fluorescence-based assays, the array is scanned with a high-resolution scanner to acquire binding signals. For our label-free platform, binding curves are generated in real time. Raw data is then normalized and analyzed using our advanced bioinformatics tools to identify binding specificities and affinities.

• Comprehensive Reporting

We deliver a detailed report that includes all raw data, processed results, and a clear, visual representation of the binding profiles.

Publication Data

Advantages

• Our HMO Microarray service delivers unmatched advantages by combining chemically synthesized structural diversity with high-sensitivity screening—enabling precise detection of glycan-protein interactions using minimal sample volumes.
• We accelerate your research through flexible dual-detection methods (fluorescence-based endpoint analysis or label-free real-time kinetics) and high-throughput multiplexing that processes multiple samples simultaneously.
• Every experiment generates biologically actionable insights via our advanced bioinformatics pipeline, which transforms raw binding data into specificity heatmaps, affinity profiles, and cluster analyses to reveal functional mechanisms.

Applications

• Our service is invaluable for the screening and validation of HMOs for inclusion in infant formulas and nutritional supplements to better mimic the biological functions of natural breast milk.
• By profiling the binding of gut bacteria to various HMOs, our service provides a powerful tool for understanding the mechanisms behind gut colonization and the establishment of a healthy microbiome.
• HMOs have been found to serve as biomarkers for various conditions, including infant digestive development and disease risk. Our platform helps researchers identify specific HMOs associated with different health states.

Frequently Asked Questions

Associated Services

Our HMO microarray analysis decodes functional glycan signatures critical for infant immunity, pathogen defense, and microbiota modulation. To transform these structural insights into precision tools for modulating glycosylation pathways, we offer N-Glycosylation Processing Enzyme Inhibitor Development Services. These target key enzymatic checkpoints in glycoprotein maturation:

• Oligosaccharyltransferase Inhibitor Development Service
• α-Glucosidase I Inhibitor Development Service
• α-Glucosidase II Inhibitor Development Service
• α-Mannosidase I Inhibitor Development Service
• α-Mannosidase II Inhibitor Development Service

As a biotechnology company with many years of successful experience in the glycan microarray industry, CD BioGlyco has developed sensitive high-density arrays to make the research of HMOs efficient and simple. If you need HMO microarray services, please contact us directly and we will get back to you promptly.

Reference

1. Kellman, B.P.; et al. Elucidating human milk oligosaccharide biosynthetic genes through network-based multi-omics integration. Nature Communications. 2022, 13(1): 2455. (Open Access)

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