Carbohydrate Microarrays in 96-Well Polystyrene Microtiter Plates

A method for the preparation of carbohydrate microarrays inside 96-well polystyrene microtiter plates is described. The key step in this strategy represents the synthesis of carbohydrate–dextran conjugates by copper (I)-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition between alkyne carbohydrate derivative and a specially designed azido dextran polymer. The conjugates adsorb efficiently on polystyrene surface and can be printed inside 96-well plates using a non-contact piezoelectric microarrayer. Model interactions with a selection of lectins (concanavalin A, wheat germ agglutinin, Erythrina Cristagalli ) display the efficiency of the immobilization method, its reproducibility and the specificity of biomolecular interactions occurring at the polystyrene–water interface.