The use of chitin binding proteins for glycoprotein analysis

The focus of the pharmaceutical industry has dramatically shifted in the past number of years. Traditional drugs were synthesised using chemical reactions have been replaced by recombinant glycoprotein molecules. These potential recombinant glycoprotein therapeutics display oligosaccharide structures on their surfaces that are recognised by their target host. The specific glycan moieties on the surface of the molecules vary dramatically and have a large impact on the efficacy of the drug. The development of bioanalytical tools to identify and separate the species of glyco-forms present in a preparation of the glycoprotein therapeutic will significantly help to advance the quality and effectiveness of recombinant glycoprotein molecules. Traditionally lectins, isolated from plants, had been used to profile sugar species displayed on glycoproteins. I have explored the use of prokaryotic chitin binding proteins (CBPs) to investigate structures on glycoproteins