Glycan-Recognizing Probes as Tools

Antibodies, lectins, microbial adhesins, viral agglutinins, and other proteins with carbohydrate-binding modules, collectively termed glycan-recognizing probes (GRPs), are widely used in glycan analysis because their specificities enable them to discriminate among a diverse variety of glycan structures. The native multivalency of many of these molecules promotes high-affinity avidity binding to the glycans and cell surfaces containing those glycans. This chapter describes the variety of commonly used GRPs, the types of analyses to which they may be applied, and cautionary principles that affect their optimal use.