Sensor system for saccharides

1. An analytical system for detecting a saccharide comprising:

a) a sample known to contain or suspected of containing a saccharide;

b) one or more than one solid substrate, the solid substrate having attached thereto one or more than one saccharide sensor, the sensor having the formula:

the saccharide sensor does not contain a fluorophore in its molecular structure;

Z is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl groups, and aryl groups;

B d1 and B d2 are independently selected binding groups;

N is a nitrogen atom;

Sp is an aliphatic spacer;

An is an anchor group for attaching the sensor to the solid substrate; and

n=1 or 2, m=1 or 2, y=1 or 2, and x is an integer; and

c) means for detecting one or more than one saccharide that is bound to the sensor or saccharide that is not bound to the sensor.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a labeled glucose analogue that competes with glucose for binding with the saccharide sensor.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the solid substrate is one or more than one bead having identification labels comprising:

a) a fluorescent analyte detection dye, the analyte detection dye being capable of being excited by light at a first excitation wavelength and capable of emitting light at a peak wavelength when excited, and

b) two or more than two fluorescent labels in a first combination of relative amounts, the fluorescent labels being capable of being excited by light of a same second excitation wavelength and capable of emitting lights at first and second peak wavelengths, distinguishable from each other, respectively, wherein the peak wavelength of the emitted light of the analyte detection dye is different from the first and second maximum wavelengths of the emitted lights of the fluorescent labels by at least 100 nm, and the first and second peak wavelengths differ by at least 100 nm and one of the excitation wavelengths is greater than about 750 nm.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the means for detecting the particle and saccharide in the sample comprises:

a) means for exciting the fluorescent dye;

b) means for exciting the first and second fluorescent labels;

c) means for detecting the emitted lights; and

d) means for correlating the detected emitted lights with a particular bead under analysis.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the analyte detection dye is externally complexed to the outside of the bead, and the fluorescent labels are embedded within the bead.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein the fluorescent labels are both cyanine dyes having emitting lights greater than 750 nm.

7. The system of claim 3 wherein light at the first excitation wavelength causes substantially no emitted light by the fluorescent labels and light at the second excitation wavelength causes substantially no emitted light by the analyte detection dye.

8. A saccharide sensing substrate, comprising

a solid substrate; and

a saccharide sensor attached to the substrate having the formula:

wherein:

Z is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl groups, and a phenyl group;

N is a nitrogen atom;

B d1 and B d2 are independently selected binding groups, wherein the binding groups are capable of binding a saccharide molecule;

Sp is an aliphatic spacer;

An is an anchor group for attaching the sensor to the bead; and

n=1 or 2, m=1 or 2, y=1 or 2 and x is an integer.

9. The saccharide sensing substrate of claim 8 , wherein B d1 is R 1 —B(OH) 2 and B 2 is R 2 —B(OH) 2 , B d1 and B 2 are capable of binding a saccharide molecule to form a stable 1:1 complex, and R 1 and R 2 are aliphatic or aromatic functional groups selected independently from each other and B is a boron atom.

10. The saccharide sensing substrate of claim 9 , wherein R 1 and R 2 are selected from the group consisting of: methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, phenyl, methoxy, ethoxy, butoxy, and phenoxy groups.

11. The saccharide sensing substrate of claim 8 , wherein Sp is a straight-chain alkane.

12. The saccharide sensing substrate of claim 11 , wherein the straight-chain alkane comprises from 1 to 9 carbon atoms.

13. The saccharide sensing substrate of claim 12 , wherein the straight-chain alkane comprises 6 carbon atoms.

14. The saccharide sensing substrate of claim 8 , wherein the saccharide sensor attached to the solid substrate has the following general structure:

wherein An is an anchor group for attaching the sensor to the solid substrate.

15. The saccharide sensing substrate of claim 8 , wherein the sensor attached to the solid substrate has the following general structure:

wherein p and q are integers and the ratio of p/q is one or greater than one.

16. The saccharide sensing substrate of claim 8 , wherein B d1 , B d2 , Sp, m, and q are chosen to provide selective binding of the saccharide sensor to glucose.

17. The substrate of claim 8 , wherein the saccharide sensor is a glucose binding sensor and the saccharide sensing substrate has the formula:

wherein An is an anchor group that attaches the glucose binding sensor to the substrate, Z is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl groups, and a phenyl group, and x is an integer.

18. An analytical system for detecting a saccharide comprising:

a) a sample known to contain or suspected of containing a saccharide;

b) one or more than one solid substrate, the solid substrate having attached thereto one or more than one saccharide sensor having the formula:

wherein:

Z is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl groups, aryl groups and fluorophores;

B d1 and B d2 are independently selected binding groups;

N is a nitrogen atom;

Sp is an aliphatic spacer;

An is an anchor group for attaching the sensor to the solid substrate; and

n=1 or 2, m=1 or 2, y=1 or 2, and x is an integer; and

wherein the solid substrate is one or more than one bead having identification labels comprising: two or more than two fluorescent labels in a first combination of relative amounts, the fluorescent labels being capable of being excited by light of a same excitation wavelength and capable of emitting lights at first and second peak wavelengths, distinguishable from each other, respectively, the first and second peak wavelengths differ by at least 30; and

c) means for detecting the identification labels and the one or more than one saccharide that is bound to the sensor or saccharide that is not bound to the sensor.

19. The analytical system of claim 18 , wherein Z is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl groups and a phenyl group.

20. The analytical system of claim 19 , the system further comprising a labeled glucose analog that competes with glucose for binding with the saccharide sensor.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the labeled glucose analog is a propane diol ring-locked cyanine dye having the formula:

22. The system of claim 18 , wherein Z is a fluorophore.