Fluorescent staining of glycoproteins on polyvinylidene difluoride membrane with 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonate

Here, we describe a simple and sensitive method that allows fluorescent det ection of glycoproteins on polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane. We us ed periodic acid oxidation of carbohydrate chains of glycoproteins and fluo rescent labeling with 8-aminoaphthalene-1, 3,6-trisulfonate (ANTS) by reduc tive amination. We developed an additional method to enhance the ability of PVDF to absorb glycoproteins by using non-glycoprotein lectin, such as whe at germ agglutinin (WGA), as a link between the PVDF membrane and glycoprot eins, resulting in considerably increased detection sensitivity to glycopro teins.