Affinity electrophoresis as a method for determining substrate-binding specificity of carbohydrate-active enzymes for soluble polysaccharides.

Affinity electrophoresis is a simple and rapid tool for the analysis of protein-binding affinities to soluble polysaccharides. This approach is particularly suitable for the characterization of the carbohydrate-active enzymes that contain a carbohydrate-binding module and for their mutants and chimeras. Knowledge of the binding characteristics of these enzymes can be the first step to elucidate the enzymatic activity of a putative enzyme; moreover in some cases, enzymes are able to bind polysaccharides targets other than their specified substrate, and this knowledge can be essential to understand the basics of the intrinsic mechanism of these enzymes in their natural environment.