On-chip detection of protein glycosylation based on energy transfer between nanoparticles

We describe a chip-based method to detect protein glycosylation based on the energy transfer between quantum dots (QDs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Our assay system relies on modulations in the energy transfer between the nanoparticles on a surface. The photoluminescence (PL) of lectin-coated QDs (energy donor) immobilized on a glass slide is quenched by carbohydrate-coated AuNPs (energy acceptor), and the presence of the glycoprotein causes the increase of the PL of QDs. As a proof-of-concept, Concanavalin A-coated QDs (ConA-QDs) and dextran-coated AuNPs (Dex-AuNPs) were used to detect the mannosylated proteins. As a result, the PL intensity of QDs was found to be linearly correlated with the concentration and the number of glycan moiety of the glycoprotein. We anticipated that our simple assay system will find applications for the analysis of glycoproteins with high selectivity and sensitivity in a high-throughput manner.