Imaging technique helps scientists profile the sugar structures on protein molecules
Friday, November 30, 2012 - 09:31
in Biology & Nature
The body's cell machinery often attaches sugar chains onto proteins to create molecules that play a crucial role in everything from protective immunity to structural stability. However, distinguishing between the different sugar tags applied to these so-called 'glycoproteins' can be difficult. Now, investigators in Japan have developed a way to visualize the profile of sugar molecules (known as 'glycans') on specific protein targets.