Abstract
Carbohydrate microarrays, which screen many carbohydrates simultaneously with a minimal consumption of reagents, provide a viable solution for glycobiology research as a reliable and efficient tool for rapid analysis of carbohydrate-biomolecule interactions. We have developed a novel and easy method for fabricating a stable, covalent, and highly active carbohydrate microarray based on boronate formation between the hydroxyl groups of carbohydrate and boronic acid (BA) on the glass surface. Although the formation of boronate is a reversible reaction in aqueous solution, the BA-based carbohydrate microarray resist the stringent wash because of multivalent binding between carbohydrate hydroxyl groups and BAs on the surface. Except monosaccharides, this method is suitable for immobilizing all sizes of carbohydrates with biological binding activity toward the corresponding lectins. In addition, there is no need to perform sugar modification before immobilization. The BA-based carbohydrate microarrays were used to identify carbohydrate-protein interactions and to measure the dissociation constant of corresponding carbohydrate-binding protein.