Within the past two years new developments in neoglycoconjugate format
ion have increased the accessibility and usefulness of these probes fo
r the analyses of glycan structure and function. This article reviews
several simple chemical and enzymatic methods for tagging oligosacchar
ides with chromophores, biotin, peptides, proteins and, lipids, and de
scribes some representative applications of these neoglycoconjugates.