Single-molecule snapshots of glycans

By pairing up techniques, researchers have produced images of individual molecules of a variety of glycans, or carbohydrate molecules, that are found on proteins or lipids. The images of these carbohydrate molecules are at such high resolutions that scientists could see and count every monosaccharide at every glycosylated site. “I’ve been making glycopeptides and glycoproteins for 25 years,” says Matthew Pratt , a carbohydrate chemist at the University of Southern California who was not involved in the research. He has long imagined how sugar molecules might look attached to protein backbones. “Reading this paper and seeing the striking results were like watching my thoughts and figures come to life.” Complex carbohydrates attached to proteins, lipids, or the outside of biological cells play major roles in cellular signaling and other biological functions . Studying their interactions helps researchers understand cellular interactions and develop new therapeutics based on disrupting or enhancing those