CARBOHYDRATE
COMMITTEE REPORT
In an effort to meet the growing needs of our
member facilities to learn about methods for
carbohydrate analysis, a Carbohydrate Committee has
now been established. The Committee consists of
Roberta Merkel, Complex Carbohydrate Research
Center, University of Georgia; Mike Rhode, Amgen;
Mike Spellman, Genentech; Al Smith, Stanford; Reid
Townsend, UCSF; and Steve Carr, SmithKline Beecham.
We are especially pleased that Roberta Merkel, Mike
Spellman and Reid Townsend were willing to be part
of this new, exciting endeavor as they have not
previously participated in the ABRF. The Committee
is made up of innovators in the field of
carbohydrate analysis, long-term users and
evaluators of cutting-edge methodology, as well as
new initiates to carbohydrates who understand the
requirements for useful analytical methods in core
facilities. Our mission is to provide the core
facilities with the information needed to perform
the types of carbohydrate analyses that would most
benefit their user base, aid in the evaluation of
techniques and instrumentation for these analyses,
assess current performance through research
activities such as test samples, and provide
information on an ongoing basis as to the state-of-
the-art in carbohydrate structure, function and
structural characterization. A significant
component of these activities will involve
comparing and differentiating the various chemical,
biological, and chromatographic techniques, as well
as the numerous commercially available "black box"
instruments and pre-packaged chemistries available
for carbohydrate composition analysis, release of
carbohydrates, glycoform distribution analysis, and
carbohydrate sequencing. Because of the increasing
presence of mass spectrometers in core facilities,
special emphasis will be given to the uses and
future potential of mass spectrometry in
carbohydrate analysis. Our focus will be on those
types of analyses that MOST core facilities should
be capable of performing as distinguished from more
esoteric or demanding analyses that are more suited
to groups specializing in carbohydrate analysis.
We look forward to serving the carbohydrate needs
of the ABRF.
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Created: 29th July 1995
Last modified: 29th July 1995