Glycome Atlas
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Glycome Atlas
method
Also known as lectin microarray, lectin array
Plain-language answer
A lectin array is a chip printed with many sugar-binding proteins called lectins. When a sample is applied, the pattern of which lectins light up gives a fingerprint of the sugars present, without needing to sequence each structure.1
Lectin arrays are a fast, accessible way to compare glycan patterns between samples, for example healthy versus diseased tissue, making them useful for screening before more detailed analysis.12
Technical detail
Lectin microarrays present panels of glycan-binding proteins to profile glycan-motif abundance in a sample via differential binding, offering rapid comparative glycomics with motif-level rather than structure-level resolution.12
Labeled glycoproteins or cells are applied to arrays of immobilized lectins, and binding intensities across the panel yield a glycan-motif profile that can be compared across conditions.1
Because each lectin recognizes a family of related motifs, interpretation is at the level of motif classes, and definitive structural assignment requires complementary mass spectrometry.2
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References