Photocrosslinking sugars for capturing glycan-dependent interactions

Akiko Fujita, Jennifer J. Kohler

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Photocrosslinking approaches are an important strategy to covalently capture biomolecular interactions. Covalent capture by photocrosslinking is particularly powerful for glycan-dependent interactions because these binding events are typically low-affinity and unable to withstand common purification protocols. Implementation of photocrosslinking methods is based on the incorporation of a photoactivatable crosslinking functional group onto glycan-containing molecules. Upon activation with UV radiation, the photocrosslinking group is converted to a reactive species, which forms a covalent bond with neighboring molecules. Resulting crosslinked complexes can be analyzed by immunological and mass spectrometry techniques to identify glycan-dependent binding partners. In some cases, photocrosslinker incorporation can be achieved in living cells, enabling detection of glycan-dependent interactions in their native context. In this mini-review, we describe new sugar-based photocrosslinking reagents and illustrate how they have been used to photochemically characterize glycan-dependent interactions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)E1-E7
JournalTrends in Glycoscience and Glycotechnology
Volume27
Issue number156
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 24 2015

Keywords

  • Metabolic engineering
  • O-GlcNAc
  • Photocrosslinking
  • Sialic acid
  • Sugar-dependent interaction

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Organic Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Photocrosslinking sugars for capturing glycan-dependent interactions'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this