The development of retrosynthetic glycan libraries to profile and classify the human serum N-linked glycome.

Annotation of the human serum N-linked glycome is a formidable challenge but is necessary for disease marker discovery. A new theoretical glycan library was constructed and proposed to provide all possible glycan compositions in serum. It was developed based on established glycobiology and retrosynthetic state-transition networks.

Detecting glycan cancer biomarkers in serum samples using MALDI FT-ICR mass spectrometry data.

Motivation: The development of better tests to detect cancer in its earliest stages is one of the most sought-after goals in medicine. Especially important are minimally invasive tests that require only blood or urine samples. By profiling oligosaccharides cleaved from glycosylated proteins shed by tumor cells into the blood stream, we hope to determine glycan profiles that will help identify cancer patients using a simple blood test.