# Development of analytical methods for glycosaminoglycans from biological sources

> **NIH NIH R44** · GLYCAN THERAPEUTICS CORPORATION · 2022 · $988,771

## Abstract

This SBIR phase II proposal is aimed to develop a LC-MS/MS based method to analyze
heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate with sub-nanogram quantities. Heparan sulfate
and chondroitin sulfate are highly sulfated polysaccharides displaying a wide range of
biological functions. There is a strong demand for a quantitative and sensitive method
to analyze heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate. In this proposal, we propose to
achieve the quantitation of heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate using 13C-labeled
calibrants. To this end, heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate are depolymerized into
disaccharides by heparin lyases and chondroitin ABCase. The composition analysis of
the resultant disaccharides is accomplished by a LC-MS/MS method. In addition, we
plan to use 13C-labeled heparan sulfate octasaccharide calibrants to determine the
levels of 3-O-sulfated heparan sulfate. The crucial innovation in our proposed method is
to add “absolute quantitation” capability using 13C-labeled disaccharide calibrants and
13C-labeled octasaccharide calibrants. Aim 1 is designed to demonstrate the ability to
quantitative the level of 3-O-sulfated heparan sulfate. We will focus on analyzing the
analysis of 3-O-suflated heparan sulfate from plasma samples and from human brain
tissues with neurodegenerative diseases. Aim 2 is aimed to develop a method for
quantitative disaccharide analysis of chondroitin sulfate. We will synthesize six 13C-
labeled chondroitin sulfate disaccharide calibrants to carry out the studies. We will also
conduct the analysis for chondroitin sulfate from human brain tissues from
neurodegenerative diseases. The completed heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate
analysis from plasma and solid tissues will demonstrate the robustness of the method.
The success of this project will provide a method to analyze heparan sulfate and
chondroitin sulfate with sensitivity and accuracy for biologists.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10545230
- **Project number:** 2R44GM142304-02
- **Recipient organization:** GLYCAN THERAPEUTICS CORPORATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Zhangjie Wang
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $988,771
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2021-09-15 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10545230

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10545230, Development of analytical methods for glycosaminoglycans from biological sources (2R44GM142304-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10545230. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*