General procedure for the synthesis of neoglycoproteins and immobilization on epoxide-modified glass slides

Neoglycoproteins, such as BSA-glycosides, contain carbohydrates covalently attached to a protein carrier via nonnaturally occurring linkages. These conjugates have been used for decades to study carbohydrate-protein interactions and are frequently used as immunogens to raise antibodies to carbohydrate antigens. In fact, neoglycoproteins have been used extensively as vaccine antigens and several have obtained FDA approval. More recently, neoglycoproteins have been used in the construction of glycan arrays to produce "neoglycoprotein microarrays." In this chapter, two methods for preparing neoglycoproteins are described along with methods to immobilize these conjugates on epoxide-coated glass microscope slides to produce arrays.