MXene as a novel cartridge for N-glycan enrichment.

In this study, we applied MXene as column cartridge for N-glycan enrichment from human samples with a focus on the analysis of sialic acid linkages using a derivatisation protocol followed by glycan analysis via Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation-Time Of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The MXene-based cartridge enriches a higher number of glycans (i.e., sialylated and bisecting N-glycans) when compared to the commercial HILIC columns. We demonstrate the strong potential of MXene as a stationary phase in MS glycomic analysis.

Identification of Whole-Serum Glycobiomarkers for Colorectal Carcinoma Using Reverse-Phase Lectin Microarray.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common types of cancer among men and women worldwide. Efforts are currently underway to find novel and more cancer-specific biomarkers that could be detected in a non-invasive way. The analysis of aberrant glycosylation of serum glycoproteins is a way to discover novel diagnostic and prognostic CRC biomarkers. The present study investigated a whole-serum glycome with a panel of 16 different lectins in search for age-independent and CRC-specific glycomarkers using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses and glycan heat matrices. Glycosylation changes present in the whole serum were identified, which could lead to the discovery of novel biomarkers for CRC diagnostics. In particular, the change in the bisecting glycans (recognized by Phaseolus vulgaris erythroagglutinin) had the highest discrimination potential for CRC diagnostics in combination with human L selectin providing area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.989 (95% CI 0.950-1.000), specificity of 1.000, sensitivity of 0.900, and accuracy of 0.960. We also implemented novel tools for identification of lectins with strong discrimination power.