A biotin chain-end functionalized boronic acid-containing polymer (biotin boropolymer) as an oriented glyco-affinity macroligand for efficient carbohydrate and glycoconjugate purification and identification application was described. Briefly, the biotin boropolymer was synthesized via a biotin derivated arylamine initiated cyanoxyl-mediated free-radical polymerization in one-pot fashion. The specific streptavidin binding capacity of biotin boropolymer was confirmed by streptavidin-HABA assay, while the specific carbohydrate binding capacity of biotin boropolymer was evaluated by Alizarin Red S binding assay. Efficient glyco-capturing followed by direct MALDI mass spectrometry identification of the captured carbohydrate was demonstrated by using magnetic bead functionalized with the biotin boropolymer via streptavidin/biotin interaction. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.