Immunological Arrays

Glycoproteins play an important role in, for example, immunology and the elucidation of the functions of the carbohydrate residues are therefore the focus of great current efforts. The protein-bound carbohydrates perform an array of functions ranging from protection against proteolysis to the complex interplay with receptors and the discrimination of these functions in simple model systems can perhaps aid in a more detailed understanding of protein-carbohydrate interactions. 

Milk is secreted by all species of mammals to supply nutrition and immunological protection to the young. It performs these functions with a large array of distinctive compounds. Interspecies differences in the quantitative composition of milk (Jenness and Sloan 1970) probably reflect differences in the metabolic processes of the lactating mother and in the nutritive requirements of the suckling young. 

Fig. 4. Glycan arrays are used to characterize the antibody profiles of vaccinated animals (Glycan array I) and to scan for asialo-orosomucoid (ASOR)-specific immunological probes (Glycan array II). Antigen preparations spotted on each glycan array and their array location are summarized in Supplemental Tables SI and S2 of reference (18) (available at the Physiological Genomics Web site).

In addition to clinical and biochemical reactions, e.g. DNA analysis, immunological assays or syntheses of large number of oligomers and peptides, comparably small molecules can be synthesized. The synthesis of an array of different substituted 1,4-benzodiazepine compounds is claimed [85],... 

John D. Wade Howard Florey Institute and School of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Jan-Christoph Westermann Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Dirk F.H. Winkler Peptide Array Facility of the Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Weiguang Zeng Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia... 

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