Design and application of an open tubular capillary reactor for solid-phase permethylation of glycans in glycoprotein

The permethylation derivatization method for structural analysis of glycans is important for characterizing glycoproteins in the study of glycomics. An open tubular capillary reactor coated with NaOH was designed and constructed for solid-phase permethylation of glycans in glycoproteins. The flow rate, capillary length, and inner diameter of the reactor were optimized. The permethylation rate of the model sample beta-cyclodextrin reached 81% with a flow rate of 1 mu L min(-1) in a 32 cm long capillary reactor (i.d. 500 mu m). A trace amount of mucin O-glycans was permethylated by the open tubular reactor under low pressure without interference from the freezing of DMSO. Analysis indicates that using this open tubular reactor is a fast, convenient, and efficient method for the permethylation of protein O-glycan.