Glycoconjugate probes containing a core-fucosylated N-glycan trisaccharide for fucose lectin identification and purification.

Glyco-PAMAM dendrimers and glyco-agarose beads bearing a core-fucosylated N-glycan trisaccharide GlcNAcβ1,4(Fucα1,6)GlcNAc or a non-fucose disaccharide GlcNAcβ1,4GlcNAc were successfully synthesized and characterized by monosaccharide analysis with HPAEC-PAD technique. These glycoconjugates as fucose lectin probes were applied in fucose-specific lectin detection and purification. The model fucose lectin AAL indicated binding activity with the FITC-labeled PAMAM carrying core-fucose trisaccharide. An affinity chromatography column stuffed with the agarose beads carrying core-fucosylated trisaccharide exhibited a good specificity in purification of AAL than non-fucose disaccharide agarose beads. These novel glycoconjugates bearing the precise and simplified core-fucose N-glycan structure provided a potential application for core-fucose-specific lectin discovery.