Highly sensitive two-dimensional profiling of N-linked glycans by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography and dual stacking capillary gel electrophoresis.

Background: N-Glycosylation is one of the most important post-translational modifications in proteins. As the N-glycan profiles in biological samples are diverse and change according to the pathological condition, various profiling methods have been developed, such as liquid chromatography (LC), capillary electrophoresis (CE), and mass spectrometry. However, conventional analytical methods have limitations in sensitivity and/or resolution, hindering the discovery of minor but specific N-glycans that are important both in the basic glycobiology research and in the medical application as biomarkers.