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Updated: May 9, 2026

Chemo-enzymatic Synthesis of N-glycans for Array Development and HIV Antibody Profiling
Published on: February 5, 2018
A general strategy for the chemoenzymatic synthesis of asymmetrically branched N-glycans
Zhen Wang1, Zoeisha S Chinoy, Shailesh G Ambre
1Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, 315 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Abstract:
A systematic, efficient means of producing diverse libraries of asymmetrically branched N-glycans is needed to investigate the specificities and biology of glycan-binding proteins. To that end, we describe a core pentasaccharide that at potential branching positions is modified by orthogonal protecting groups to allow selective attachment of specific saccharide moieties by chemical glycosylation. The appendages were selected so that the antenna of the resulting deprotected compounds could be selectively extended by glycosyltransferases to give libraries of asymmetrical multi-antennary glycans. The power of the methodology was demonstrated by the preparation of a series of complex oligosaccharides that were printed as microarrays and screened for binding to lectins and influenza-virus hemagglutinins, which showed that recognition is modulated by presentation of minimal epitopes in the context of complex N-glycans.
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