Three-dimensional mapping of N-linked oligosaccharides using anion-exchange, hydrophobic and hydrophilic interaction modes of high-performance liquid chromatography.

To determine the structure of N-linked oligosaccharides, a three-dimensional (3-D) sugar mapping technique for pyridylaminated neutral and sialyl oligosaccharides is proposed. The pyridylaminated oligosaccharide mixture is first separated by HPLC on a diethylaminoethyl anion-exchange column and the elution data are placed on the Z-axis. Neutral and mono-, di-, tri- and tetrasialyloligosaccharides are then individually separated on both a hydrophobic octadecylsilylsilica column and a hydrophilic amide-silica column under the same conditions as described previously for neutral oligosaccharides. The validity of the 3-D mapping technique was tested using sialyl pyridylaminated oligosaccharides from human serum glycoproteins.