Thermo Scientific™ GlcNAz (N-azidoacetylglucosamine tetraacylated)

The sugars are azide-derivatives of naturally occurring monosaccharides that cells use to glycosylate proteins using post-translational modification biochemical pathways. The azide functional group is small and nonreactive with endogenous molecules. When supplied to cells, these compounds become incorporated by glycosylation events to effectively “tag” glycoproteins with the azide group. The azide group then can be efficiently and specifically targeted for detection or conjugation using alkyne-activated reagents (“click” chemistry) or phosphine-activated reagents (Staudinger ligation). Thus, when used in combination with phosphine-activated fluorescent dyes, biotin reagents, and or other compounds, these Azido-modified Sugars facilitate the investigation of cellular pathways involving glycosylation. There are several classes of glycoproteins grouped by the type of carbohydrate and amino acid linkage site. N-linked glycosylation is a modification of asparagine amines, whereas O-linked glycosylation occurs through the hydroxyl of serine and threonine residues. The azido-modified sugars are bioorthogonal substitutes for endogenous amino sugars. ManNAz is converted by cells to an azido sialic acid derivative that is used for N-linked glycosylation of cell surface proteins. GlcNAz and GalNAz are predominantly used to label the O-linked glycosylation (O-GlcNAc and O-GalNAc).

Highlights:

• Bioorthogonal - the azido group is small, nonreactive and absent from living systems; as such the azido-sugar compounds do not interfere with endogenous cellular pathways and substitute for their naturally occurring analogs

• Compatible - reaction chemistry with phosphine compounds occurs effectively in simple buffer conditions; requires no accessory reagents such as copper or reducing agents

• Chemoselective - Azide and phosphine groups do not react or interfere with components of biological samples but conjugate to one another with high efficiency

• Versatile - Azide tag can be targeted for detection, immobilization, conjugation or affinity purification depending on which phosphine-activated compound it is reacted with