title: Electrochemical lectin based biosensors as a label-free tool in glycomics.
abstract: Glycans and other saccharide moieties attached to proteins and lipids, or present on the surface of a cell, are actively involved in numerous physiological or pathological processes. Their structural flexibility (that is based on the formation of various kinds of linkages between saccharides) is making glycans superb "identity cards". In fact, glycans can form more "words" or "codes" (i.e., unique sequences) from the same number of "letters" (building blocks) than DNA or proteins. Glycans are physicochemically similar and it is not a trivial task to identify their sequence, or - even more challenging - to link a given glycan to a particular physiological or pathological process. Lectins can recognise differences in glycan compositions even in their bound state and therefore are most useful tools in the task to decipher the "glycocode". Thus, lectin-based biosensors working in a label-free mode can effectively complement the current weaponry of analytical tools in glycomics. This review gives an introduction into the area of glycomics and then focuses on the design, analytical performance, and practical utility of lectin-based electrochemical label-free biosensors for the detection of isolated glycoproteins or intact cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Glycobiotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 38, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Tomáš
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bertók
authors.affiliation: Department of Glycobiotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 38, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Jaroslav
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Katrlík
authors.affiliation: Department of Glycobiotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 38, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gemeiner
authors.affiliation: Department of Glycobiotechnology, Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 38, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tkac
keywords: biosensors; electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; electrochemistry; glycomics; label-free detection; lectins