Sialic acid is widely distributed in animal tissues and has important biological functions. To further explore the recognition and function of sialic acid residues, CD BioGlyco has established a sialylated glycan microarray to study sialic acid recognition, to help customers rapidly screen glycan-binding proteins and viruses interacting with a variety of modified sialic acids.

Introduction

Protein-glycan interactions play essential roles in signal transduction, cell adhesion as well as host-pathogen interactions, and are mediated through specific glycan recognition by glycan-binding proteins. Sialic acids are targets for recognition by glycan-binding proteins, they typically occur at the non-reducing end of glycans and are distinctly diverse among monosaccharides in that many different modified sialic acids have been recognized. The sialylation of cell surface carbohydrate conjugates is highly regulated by sialyltransferases and/or sialidases, and the most commonly studied sialic acids are Neu5Gc, Neu5Ac and their 9-O-acetylated derivatives.

In recent years, researchers have successfully synthesized sialic acid glycosides containing both natural and non-natural sialic acid residues using a variety of promiscuous sialoside biosynthetic enzymes, making it possible to study sialosides containing a wider range of sialic acids. In addition, the development of chemoenzymatic methods for the synthesis of modified sialic acids and the advancement of glycan microarrays technology have improved the ability of researchers to identify and analyze glycan receptors.

Fig.1 The design and preparation of a sialylated glycan microarray. (Song, 2011)

Our Services

CD BioGlyco provides customers with microarray service for a variety of sialic acids for rapid screening of binding proteins and viruses interacting with various sialic acids. The service we provide include but are not limited to:

• We have designed a novel sialylated glycan microarray containing numerous modified sialic acids presented on different glycan backbones that were purified and quantified, characterized by MS, and covalently printed on activated slides. The biological importance of modified sialic acids in protein-glycan interactions was studied by using a variety of key sialic acid-binding proteins and viruses for assays.
• We use glycan microarray technology to research the binding preference of influenza viruses to glycans to help further understand the interaction between influenza viruses and cellular receptors, providing new avenues for the prevention and treatment of influenza.

Our service process includes the following:

• Microarray construction: We covalently imprint multiple sialic acids onto activated slides. The specific types of sialic acids may vary and are synthesized by enzymatic or other methods.
• Sample processing and detection: We perform preliminary processing and labeling of the samples. The samples are then incubated at an optimized concentration on the sialic acid microarray, allowing them to specifically bind to the sialic acid structures on the chip. Unbound samples are removed through washing steps, ensuring that only specifically bound molecules remain on the chip. Finally, we scan the chip using a high-sensitivity microarray scanner to obtain fluorescence signal data.
• Data analysis: After processing the raw data, we perform statistical analysis on the standardized data to identify sialic acid structures with significant binding signals. A detailed analytical report is submitted, including experimental methods, parameters, raw data, analysis results, charts, and conclusions.

Workflow

Applications

• Sialic acid microarrays are used to assess the binding specificity of novel proteins, antibodies, bacteria, and other molecules to various sialic acid structures. This is crucial for studying biological processes such as host-pathogen interactions and intercellular communication.
• In virology research, sialic acid microarrays are used to help determine viral preferences for receptors with different sialic acid linkages, thereby elucidating their pathogenicity in hosts.
• In tumor glycobiology research, sialic acid microarrays are used to reveal changes in sialylation on the surface of tumor cells and guide the development of anticancer drugs.

Advantages

• Our sialic acid microarray allows for the screening of a large number of samples or the analysis of interactions in a single experiment, greatly improving experimental efficiency and data acquisition speed.
• For rare samples, the sialic acid microarray requires only a very small amount of sample, offering significant analytical advantages.
• Our sialic acid microarray contains numerous modified sialic acids, making it suitable for extensive studies of interactions involving proteins, viruses, and other molecules.

Publication Data

Frequently Asked Questions

CD BioGlyco offers new glycomics technologies for the analysis of glycan function and recognition, enabling research teams to analyze a wide range of glycans. We provide highly skilled professional services to our clients utilizing cutting-edge technologies. If you are interested in our services, please contact us for further consultation.

Associated Services