Issue 66, 2015

Discrimination between lectins with similar specificities by ratiometric profiling of binding to glycosylated surfaces; a chemical ‘tongue’ approach

Abstract

Carbohydrate–lectin interactions dictate a range of signalling and recognition processes in biological systems. The exploitation of these, particularly for diagnostic applications, is complicated by the inherent promiscuity of lectins along with their low affinity for individual glycans which themselves are challenging to access (bio)synthetically. Inspired by how a ‘tongue’ can discriminate between hundreds of flavours using a minimal set of multiplexed sensors and a training algorithm, here individual lectins are ‘profiled’ based on their unique binding profile (barcode) to a range of monosaccharides. By comparing the relative binding of a panel of 5 lectins to 3 monosaccharide-coated surfaces, it was possible to generate a training algorithm that enables correct identification of lectins, even those with similar glycan preferences. This is demonstrated to be useful for discrimination between the cholera and ricin toxin lectins showing the potential of this minimalist approach for exploiting glycan complexity.

Graphical abstract: Discrimination between lectins with similar specificities by ratiometric profiling of binding to glycosylated surfaces; a chemical ‘tongue’ approach

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
12 May 2015
Accepted
12 Jun 2015
First published
12 Jun 2015
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2015,5, 53911-53914

Author version available

Discrimination between lectins with similar specificities by ratiometric profiling of binding to glycosylated surfaces; a chemical ‘tongue’ approach

L. Otten and M. I. Gibson, RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 53911 DOI: 10.1039/C5RA08857G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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