Composition Analysis:
The type of glycosyl building blocks present in a complex saccharide can be determined by breaking the molecule down into its component monosaccharides then derivatizing the monosaccharides and analyzing them by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry against known standards.

GCMS Analysis of one of our standard sets showing some representative monosaccharides.

            Though our standards encompass most common sugars, there are some sugars for which no standards are available.  For these we offer chemical ionization mass spectrometry which, in conjunction with gas chromatography can determine the general type of residue present.
One advantage of this type of analysis is that it only requires 100-400ug of actual saccharide.  Further, modest levels of protein and salt do not interfere.  For samples where larger amounts of highly pure material are available, further characterization by NMR is available to elucidate both the exact nature of unusual sugars and the nature and location of noncarbohydrate substituents such as acetate or pyruvate.