Determination of a glycolipid ligand can quickly reveal the carbohydrate epitope recognized by carbohydrate-binding proteins (CBP) which may include antibodies, lectins, toxins, and virulence factors. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) is a simple, well-known, and heavily used method to separate glycolipids based on their migration through a thin layer of chromatography media, usually silica gel, coated on the surface of a rigid plate. Reacting carbohydrate-binding proteins directly on a TLC plate of separated glycolipids is a powerful technique to quickly determine functional carbohydrate epitopes present in an entire glycolipid extract of a target cell type or tissue.
Keywords: Anti-carbohydrate antibodies; Carbohydrate-binding proteins (CBP); Glycolipid antigens; Immunostaining; Lectins; Thin layer chromatography (TLC); Toxins.