Did you know that analyzing glycan profiles is crucial for any scientist working with glycoproteins, but that the process can get really frustrating when analyzing large numbers of samples? While some good methods for glycan analysis have been used routinely over the years, thanks to new methods, we have better solutions available now to analyze glycans.
Liquid chromatography is most commonly used to separate and quantify glycans. It provides high resolution of glycan separation and great data. However, to obtain great data for 96 samples, the overall process from sample prep to analysis takes about 2-3 days.
Capillary electrophoresis, also known as CE, is another technique that can give high data quality and resolution; similar to liquid chromatography. But currently used CE methods are not robust and the instruments tend to have frail capillaries. Current CE methods can take 2-3 days to prepare, process and analyze 96 samples and therefore don’t solve the low throughput problem presented by liquid chromatography.
Microchip based systems have solved the low throughput problem, but only at the expense of data quality and resolution. Because of a short separation window, microchip based methods cannot provide high resolution of separation. This means that you have to choose multiple platforms in order to get both high throughput AND high resolution.
Think you need to choose between high throughput and high resolution? Well let’s talk about a new solution in the market that might offer you the best of both worlds.
Thermo Fisher’s Applied Biosystems recently introduced GlycanAssure, an end-to-end solution for glycan analysis and quantitation. With this CE based GlycanAssure system, you can prepare, process and analyze 96 samples in one workday. Moreover, it is the only system that gives you both, high throughput and high resolution. Its magnetic bead-based sample prep method uses highly sensitive dyes that enable use of very small amounts of sample.
The 3500 Genetic Analyzer, which is the CE instrument in the GlycanAssure system, has been used for years in forensic and clinical research labs for genetic analysis. This speaks volumes about the instrument’s robustness. Contrary to running one sample at a time sequentially, its capillary array consists of 8 and 24 capillaries enabling all samples to run parallel to each other AT THE SAME TIME. These capillaries enable consistent results over long periods of time and across multiple capillaries. So run-to-run, day-to-day, and capillary-to-capillary, the system is designed to produce reliable data. The ability to analyze glycans in parallel offers a system that combines very high throughput and high data quality with FAST and accurate results.
GlycanAssure has simple and intuitive software that provides data trends and the ability to analyze data for 96 samples within one hour. The data acquisition dashboard provides easy access to instrument status and setup. Using the step-by-step workflow, you can create your favorite experiments and directly report or export your data
GlycanAssure minimizes the need to use several platforms to address high throughput and high data quality by giving you the option of doing both with ONE system. If you want to learn more about GlycanAssure, please visit our website at thermofisher.com/glycanassure.
And remember, when in doubt, just Seq It Out
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