Equipment and Services
The facility provides techniques and services that are developed and tailored for researchers who require assistance in glycomics. Distributed throughout six nodes across Canada, the facility also houses one of the two 15 FT-ICR-MS instruments in Canada, as well as fully automated oligosaccharide synthesizers—The Glyconeer®.
If you have projects that require glycomics assistance, but the techniques are not listed on this page, please fill out the request form.
Analytical R&D
Unravelling glycan complexity with tailored glycomics and metabolomics for biological insights.
Description
- Comprehensive glycan analysis to evaluate biological changes
- Characterize glycans from proteins, glycolipids, and oligosaccharides
- N- & O- glycan and glycolipid analysis using LC-MS
- Advanced Glycan Metabolite Analysis: LC-MS for glycosylated lipids, GAGs.
- Customized glycan analysis tailor to client goals
- Targeted and Untargeted metabolomics Services
Technique/Equipment/Libraries
- ESI-LC-MS
- Fluorophore labeling for quantitation by HPLC
- LC-MS
- 700 MHz NMR
- LC-MS/MS
- Capillary Electrophoresis (CE)-MS/MS
- MALDI-TOF-MS/MS imaging
Carbohydrate Synthesis
State-of-the-art automated glycan assembly and custom probe design for tailored biological impact.
Description
- Automated glycan synthesis using state-of-the-art platforms
- Custom glycan design and modification to study biological functions
- Tailoring glycans to enhance or reduce specific biological effects
- Consulting on customized probe molecule design
- Contract research services
Technique/Equipment/Libraries
- Glyconeer 2.1
- Glycan mimetics
- Glycopeptides
- Chemo-enzymatic methods
Nucleoside Synthesis
Cutting-edge chemical synthesis for nucleoside analogue discovery.
Description
- Custom synthesis of nucleoside analogues, sugars or related compounds to support research and drug discovery.
- Access to diverse collections of pentose sugars and sugar intermediates to support nucleoside chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and related research programs.
Technique/Equipment/Libraries
- Catalogue of over 500 nucleoside analogue and carbohydrate compounds
- Options for delivery of nucleoside analogues as prodrugs or triphosphates.
- HPLC
Native Mass Spectrometry & Tissue Glycan Imaging
Profile glycosylation, characterize ligand interactions, and screen glycan libraries using advanced mass spectrometry and imaging techniques.
Description
- Intact glycoprotein analysis
- Native MS (stoichiometry affinity)
- Library Characterization and Screening
- Glycosylation profiling
- Tissue glycan imaging
Technique/Equipment/Libraries
- Advanced mass spectrometry and imaging tools
- LC-MS
- LC-FLD to determine concentration amounts
Liquid Glycan Array & Lectin Microarray Analysis
Rapid, high-throughput lectin microarrays, Liquid Lectin Array (LiLA) and Liquid Glycan Array screening for comprehensive glycoconjugate binding reports.
Description
- Lectin Microarrays for rapid, high-throughput analysis of the glycome
- Liquid Glycan Array (LiGA) platform for glycoconjugate screening
- Comprehensive report on glycoconjugate binding enrichment
- Liquid Lectin Array (LiLA) for studying naturally occurring glycan populations
Technique/Equipment/Libraries
- Contactless piezoelectric printer to print custom lectin microarrays with 115+ plant lectins, recombinant lectins, and antibodies.
- Array scanners
- Literature database of annotated lectins
- Custom software for dual-colour analysis
- Sonicator and ultracentrifuge with bioguard for sample preparation.
- Biological safety cabinet and laminar flow cabinet for sample handling.
- DNA-barcoding tools
- Liquid Glycan Array (LiGA)
- Liquid Lectin Array (LiLA)
Glycomics Drug Discovery & High-Throughput Screening
Automated high-throughput screening of 150K+ compounds for in vitro, cell-based, and tissue assays.
Description
- HTS and HCA with 150K+ compounds for in vitro, cell-based, and tissue assays
- CRISPR, RNAi, cDNA, and epitope-tagged vectors for gene characterization
- Automated handling, advanced imaging, and real-time analysis
- Screening of chemical libraries, including FDA-approved drugs for repurposing
Technique/Equipment/Libraries
- Dual Spinnaker™
- High-Throughput Screening Platform
- Labcyte Echo® 650 Acoustic Dispenser
- BioTek Synergy Neo Plate Reader
- ImageXpress Micro Confocal System
- hermo CX7 Confocal: High-Content Imaging System
- IncuCyte S3 Live Cell Analysis
- FLIPR Tetra® System
- BioSorter Flow Cytometry
High-Throughput Screening
Automated screening for protein/cell assays, custom assays, and cutting-edge data analysis.
Description
- Fully automated screening for protein/cell assays in a sterile environment
- Assays include BioMAP, MTT, and cell painting
- Compound management using liquid handling robotics
- Custom assay development and validation
- Data analysis with real-time software tools and machine learning
- Follow-up testing for hit identification, potency, and toxicity
Technique/Equipment/Libraries
- HighRes Biosolutions robotics system
- Integrated liquid handlers
- Software tools and algorithms integrated with HTS systems
- Computational systems supporting ML algorithms
- Synergy Neo2 multimode plate reader
- Cytation 7 plate imager for detailed cellular morphology analysis
- Various compound synthesis referral services for library expansion
- Spinnaker arm on a 2.5 m linear track
- ImageXpress microscopes
- Biotek Neo2 microplate reader
- 2 Thermo Cytomat 42C incubators
- Tecan Evo100 and Evo 150 liquid handlers
- Thermo Multiwell Plate carousel
- Agilent Vspin centrifuge
- BioTek 406 plate loader and washer
- Thermo Combidrop plate loaders
- Agilent Plateloc plate sealer
- Brooks XPeel Automated plate desealer
- Liquid handler – Tecan Evo150 with MCA96 and 8-channel LiHa pipetting arms, and RoMa transport arm
- Agilent 2R BenchCel plate transporter
- Agilent CAB barcode printer
- Tecan 200 position plate carousel
- Compound libraries – commercial compounds (>100,000), approved bioactive compounds (4000), microbial natural products (7000 extracts and 25,000 natural product structures)
- Vala KIC (Kinetic Imaging Cytometer) microscope
- Formulatrix MANTIS flexible dispenser
Biophysical & Structural Biology Analysis
Glycan characterization, analysis of biomolecular interactions, and high-resolution crystallography.
Description
- Analyze and define the structure of rare or modified glycans
- Quantify biomolecular complexes and interactions
- Crystallize glycan-bound proteins for high-resolution study
Technique/Equipment/Libraries
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectrometry
- LC-MS
- Microscale Thermophoresis (MST)
- Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC)
- Multi-Mode plate Readers
- UV-Vis Spectrophotometry +
- Nano UV-Vis
- Circular Dichroism (CD)
- HPLC
Molecular Glycobiology
Design glyco-engineered models, perform functional cell assays, and produce recombinant glycoproteins with expert technical support.
Description
- Design and produce cell lines/mice with altered glycosylation (e.g., CRISPR models)
- Maintain, expand, and characterize cell lines
- Perform functional and cell-based assays (e.g., proliferation, migration, cytotoxicity)
- Produce recombinant proteins (e.g., Siglec-Fc proteins)
- Provide consulting, experimental support, and training in cell culture techniques
Technique/Equipment/Libraries
- Flow Cytometry
- Microscopes
- Cell Sorter
- CO2 Incubators
- Freezers (-4॰C, -80॰C, -150॰C)
- Laminar Flow Hoods
- Culture Media & Reagents
- Thermal Cyclers
- Electrophoresis Equipment
Microbial Glycome Analysis
Characterize microbial polysaccharides and enzymes with tailored analytical strategies and expert-driven project design.
Description
- Consulting on experimental protocols and analytical strategies
- Custom project development for microbial glycomics
- Polysaccharide extraction, separation, and structural analysis
- Enzyme activity and specificity characterization
Technique/Equipment/Libraries
- GC-MS
- LC-MS
- NMR
Glycoengineering of Biologicals
Precisely modify therapeutic glycans using custom enzymes to enhance drug efficacy, stability, and in vivo performance.
Description
- Enzyme-based glycan modification on protein drugs for optimized therapeutic efficacy and stability
- Development of custom enzyme tools for precise glycan modification
- Synthesis of Core 1 and Core 2 glycans on mucin-like domains and cytokines
Technique/Equipment/Libraries
- In vitro enzymatic remodeling of protein glycans: Library of carbohydrate active enzymes for N- and O- glycan modification
- Specialized E. coli strain with a dual plasmid system for O-glycan modification of mucin like domains.
Don’t see a service listed? Contact us about custom solutions.