Polysaccharide structure and sequence determination

Abstract

The invention provides a method for the structural analysis of a saccharide, comprising: a) providing on a surface a plurality of essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agents; b) contacting said surface with a saccharide to be analyzed, or with a mixture comprising a plurality of fragments of said saccharide; c) washing or otherwise removing unbound saccharide or saccharide fragments; d) adding to the surface obtained in step c) an essentially sequence- and/or site-specific marker, or a mixture of essentially sequence- and/or site-specific markers; e) acquiring one or more images of the markers that are bound to said surface; and f) deriving information related to the identity of the saccharide being analyzed from said image.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A solid support comprising in a pre-defined order a plurality of visual or otherwise detectable markers representative of a saccharide or saccharide sequence or fragment. 
     
     
         22 - 29 . (canceled) 
     
     
         30 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein the marker comprises a label. 
     
     
         31 . The solid support of  claim 30 , wherein said label comprises a chromogenic agent. 
     
     
         32 . The solid support of  claim 30 , wherein said label comprises an enzyme, a metal, a radioactive agent, biotin or a fluorescent agent. 
     
     
         33 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein said solid support is a microparticle. 
     
     
         34 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein said solid support is a bead. 
     
     
         35 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein said solid support is a membrane. 
     
     
         36 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein said solid support is an array. 
     
     
         37 . The solid support of  claim 36 , wherein said array is an MASDA. 
     
     
         38 . The solid support of  claim 36 , wherein said array is a circuit chip. 
     
     
         39 . The solid support of  claim 38 , wherein said circuit chip is a very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuit chip. 
     
     
         40 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein said solid support is planar. 
     
     
         41 . The solid support of  claim 21 , further comprising a plurality of essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agents immobilized on the support. 
     
     
         42 . The solid support of  claim 41 , wherein said binding agents specifically bind to a glycomolecule. 
     
     
         43 . The solid support of  claim 42 , wherein said glycomolecule comprises at least one of a proteoglycan, a glycoprotein, a lipid or a free saccharide. 
     
     
         44 . The solid support of  claim 42 , wherein said glycomolecule comprises an antibody. 
     
     
         45 . The solid support of  claim 41 , wherein said plurality of essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agents comprises a lectin. 
     
     
         46 . The solid support of  claim 41 , wherein said plurality of essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agents comprises an antibody. 
     
     
         47 . The solid support of  claim 21 , further comprising an essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agent immobilized on the support, wherein a glycomolecule is contacted to the support and said markers detect whether said glycomolecule binds to said essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agent. 
     
     
         48 . The solid support of  claim 47 , wherein said glycomolecule comprises at least one of a proteoglycan, a glycoprotein, a lipid or a free saccharide. 
     
     
         49 . The solid support of  claim 47 , wherein said essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agent comprises a lectin. 
     
     
         50 . The solid support of  claim 47 , wherein said essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agent comprises an antibody. 
     
     
         51 . The solid support of  claim 47 , wherein said essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agent comprises a plurality of essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agents. 
     
     
         52 . The solid support of  claim 47 , wherein said markers comprise a plurality of essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agents. 
     
     
         53 . The solid support of  claim 52 , wherein said plurality of essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agents comprises a lectin. 
     
     
         54 . The solid support of  claim 52 , wherein said plurality of essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agents comprises an antibody. 
     
     
         55 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein the solid support adapted for analysis of a glycomolecule related to a disease selected from the group consisting of a viral disease, an autoimmune disease, and cancer. 
     
     
         56 . The solid support of  claim 55 , wherein said viral disease comprises HIV infection. 
     
     
         57 . The solid support of  claim 55 , wherein said autoimmune disease comprises Insulin dependent diabetes or Rheumatoid arthritis. 
     
     
         58 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein the solid support adapted for diagnosing a disease. 
     
     
         59 . The solid support of  claim 58 , wherein said disease is selected from the group consisting of a viral disease, an autoimmune disease, and cancer. 
     
     
         60 . The solid support of  claim 59 , wherein said viral disease comprises HIV infection. 
     
     
         61 . The solid support of  claim 59 , wherein said autoimmune disease comprises Insulin dependent diabetes or Rheumatoid arthritis. 
     
     
         62 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein the solid support is adapted for identifying a microbial pathogen. 
     
     
         63 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein the solid support is adapted for analysis of food and/or beverage. 
     
     
         64 . The solid support of  claim 63 , wherein the analysis comprises detecting bacterial contaminants in food and/or drink preparation. 
     
     
         65 . The solid support of  claim 63 , wherein the analysis comprises identifying bacterial contaminants in food and/or drink preparations. 
     
     
         66 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein the solid support adapted for analysis of a crop. 
     
     
         67 . The solid support of  claim 66 , wherein said crop is genetically modified. 
     
     
         68 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein the solid support adapted for optimization of a therapeutically active agent. 
     
     
         69 . The solid support of  claim 68 , wherein said optimization comprises optimizing at least one pharmokinetic parameter of said therapeutically active agent. 
     
     
         70 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein the solid support is adapted for development of a therapeutically active agent. 
     
     
         71 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein the solid support is adapted for screening for a therapeutic agent. 
     
     
         72 . The solid support of  claim 21 , wherein the solid support is adapted for determining a structure of a therapeutic agent. 
     
     
         73 - 111 . (canceled)