DNA Encoded Glycan Library

About

Introduction: Glycans, also known as complex carbohydrates or polysaccharides, are one of the most abundant molecules present in living organisms. They play important roles in biological events such as molecular recognition, pathogenesis, and inflammation. Expression patterns of glycans are altered in a variety of diseases including cancer, diabetes, and retrovirus infections. Interactions between glycans and glycan-binding proteins (GBPs) mediate diverse pathogenesis and therefore are of diagnostic and therapeutic significance. Existing technologies are not amenable to high content analysis and require specialized instrumentation. There is an unmet need to generate a glycan library as a convenient tool to study glycan-protein interactions through high-content and high-throughput analyses. Technology: Georgia State University researchers have developed a DNA-encoded glycan library (DEGL) platform demonstrating higher content and throughput potential. After developing a unique DNA coding system for glycans, the researchers devised a protocol for attaching the unique DNA barcodes to identify specific glycan structures. This method utilizes common molecular biology techniques such as qPCR and NGS, thereby making it affordable and accessible for glycan binding studies.