Functional Glycomics: Methods and Protocols

Functional glycomics, the study of the structure-function relationships of glycans in a given biosystem, requires the continuous development of rapid and sensitive methods for the identification of glycan structures and integration to structure-function relationships, according to Li (National Research Council Canada), including methods such as sample preparation, pre-fractionation, analytical separations, quantitation, mass spectrometry, microarrays, and bioinformatics. He presents 19 chapters describing method protocols in this field, with a focus on fundamental challenges and novel applications. Specific topics include human gangliosides and bacterial lipo-oligosaccharides in the development of automminune neuropathies, biotinylated multivalent glycoconjugates for surface coating, N-linked glycoprotein analysis using dual-extraction ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography and electrospray tandem mass spectrometry, microarray-based study of carbohydrate-protein building, metabolics in glycomics, extraction of chondroitin/dermatan sulfate glycosaminoglycans from connective tissue for mass spectrometric analysis, and characterization of polysaccharides using mass spectrometry for bacterial serotyping. As is typical of the series, each chapter includes an introduction to the principles involved, lists of necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and pitfalls. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)