Nanoporous gold (NPG) will be discussed as a useful nanomaterial for applications in glycotechnology in a range of fields including assays of glycan recognition, capture and separation of lectins or glycoproteins, and the supported synthesis of glycan structures. NPG is a versatile material formed by direct chemical or electrochemical dealloying of alloys of gold and less noble metals. The material consists of a bicontinuous structure of pores and ligaments typically in the tens of nanometers size range, but readily tunable depending on the preparation conditions or upon subsequent thermal or chemical treatments. It can be prepared in a range of formats, such as thin films, or as macroscopic monoliths. Our labs have shown that NPG can be applied as a support for the synthesis of glycans under either static or flow conditions and that this synthesis can be partially automated using HPLC. NPG monoliths have also been found useful as a support for glycan-modified self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) for the selective capture and elution of lectins, or for the conjugation of lectins to SAMs on its surface for the selective capture and subsequent elution of glycoproteins. NPG electrodes can be used as supports for glycan presenting SAMs and electrochemical methods including square-wave voltammetry used to develop glycoprotein assays, either in kinetic or competitive formats. Thermogravimetric analysis is demonstrated to be highly useful for assessing glycan immobilization and lectin binding within NPG monoliths, and atomic force microscopy useful for imaging lectin binding on exterior or interior surfaces of NPG.

Nanoporous gold: Applications in glycan recognition and synthesis

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.