IMPORTANCE OF GLYCOSYLATION

Glycosylation of proteins and lipids has a profound influence on both normal development and disease. These sugar moieties play key roles in essential biological processes such as receptor binding and cell signaling. Unsurprisingly, aberrant glycosylation plays a critical role in many human diseases, including cancer, autoimmune, and cardiovascular.

The development of glycan-enhanced therapeutics has been stalled by the absence of analytic tools that precisely characterize glycan structure. Without a detailed understanding of glycan structure, scientists cannot comprehensively assess a glycan's effect on biological activity.