Simultaneous assay of neutral sugars and amino sugars by an automatic sugar analyzer: applications to glycoproteins

The simultaneous assay of neutral sugars and amino sugars commonly found in glycoproteins is described. The automatic sugar analyzer used for the determination is based on the ion-exchange chromatography of sugar-borate complexes on a strong anion-exchange resin. The sugars are identified with the orcinol/sulfuric acid reagent. While less than 40 nmol of mannose, fucose, galactose, glucose, xylose, or arabinose is sufficient for analysis at least 200 nmol mannosamine, glucosamine, or galactosamine is required; acidic monosaccharides cannot be determined. The technique of sugar analysis is applied to structural studies on natural compounds, e.g. the monosaccharide composition of lichenan and the carbohydrate moiety of the glycoproteins ovomucoid and Collocalia mucoid.