One-step glycan photoaffinity probe synthesis enables identification of human milk oligosaccharide-interacting microbiota

A one-step diazirine/alkyne linker enables complete {beta}-stereoselective, anomeric functionalization of unprotected human milk oligosaccharides to create photoaffinity probes.

• Why it matters: Late-stage, site-specific glycan probe synthesis is difficult, limiting detection of carbohydrate interactions that shape host–microbiota communication.
• What they did: The authors install an N,O-dialkylhydroxylamine (NODHA) moiety on the anomeric position of unprotected sugars, then make single-step HMO photoaffinity probes and test selectivity with lectins.
• The result: Photocrosslinking on a complex microbiota community plus cell sorting and metagenomic sequencing identifies potential new HMO-interacting microbes.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.