A Boronic Acid Assay for the Detection of Mucin-1 Glycoprotein from Cancer Cells.

Cell surface glycoproteins are commonly aberrant in disease and act as biomarkers that facilitate diagnostics. Mucin-1 (MUC1) is a prominent example, exhibiting truncated glycosylation in cancer. We present herein a boronic acid microplate assay for sensitive and high-throughput detection of such glycoproteins. The immobilization of biotin-boronic acid 1 onto streptavidin plates generated a multivalent surface for glycoprotein recruitment and detection. We first validated the binding properties of 1 in solution through titrations with alizarin dye. Next, the microplate assay was explored through horseradish peroxidase (HRP) analysis as a proof-of-concept glycoprotein with chemiluminescence detection. Finally, this platform was applied for the detection of MUC1 directly from MCF-7 human breast cancer cell lysates by using an HRP-tagged antibody that targets the cancerous form of this glycoprotein. Sensitive, dose-dependent detection of MUC1 was observed, showcasing the efficacy of this platform for detecting disease-associated glycoproteins.