A Holistic 4D Approach to Optimize Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors Contributing to Variability in Microarray Biosensing in Glycomics

Protein-carbohydrate interactions happen to be a crucial facet of biology, discharging a myriad of functions. Microarrays have become a premier choice to discern the selectivity, sensitivity and breadth of these interactions in a high-throughput manner. The precise recognition of target glycan ligands among the plethora of others is central for any glycan-targeting probe being tested by microarray analyses. Ever since the introduction of the microarray as an elemental tool for high-throughput glycoprofiling, numerous distinct array platforms possessing different customizations and assemblies have been developed. Accompanying these customizations are various factors ushering variances across array platforms. In this primer, we investigate the influence of various extrinsic factors, namely printing parameters, incubation procedures, analyses and array storage conditions on the protein-carbohydrate interactions and evaluate these factors for the optimal performance of microarray glycomics analysis. We hereby propose a 4D approach (Design-Dispense-Detect-Deduce) to minimize the effect of these extrinsic factors on glycomics microarray analyses and thereby streamline cross-platform analyses and comparisons. This work will aid in optimizing microarray analyses for glycomics, minimize cross-platform disparities and bolster the further development of this technology.

Automated summary

Protein-carbohydrate interactions are essential in biology and microarrays have become a popular high-throughput method to study these interactions. The precise recognition of target glycan ligands among others is crucial for microarray analysis. This article investigates the influence of various external factors on protein-carbohydrate interactions and proposes a 4D approach to minimize the effects of these factors on glycomics microarray analysis and streamline cross-platform comparisons. This work will optimize microarray analysis for glycomics and enhance the development of this technology.