Glycan microarray

A glycan microarray is a laboratory tool used to study how specific sugar chains called glycans interact with proteins, such as antibodies or enzymes. It involves placing many different glycans on a small glass slide in an organized grid. When a sample containing proteins is added, those proteins bind to the glycans they recognize. This allows scientists to quickly analyze these interactions, helping to understand immune responses, disease mechanisms, and develop vaccines. Essentially, it's like a high-throughput "sugar-protein interaction" map that reveals how sugars on cell surfaces influence biological processes.