Automated identification of carbohydrates in mass spectra

A computerized system for assigning glycans to mass peaks in mass spectra of said glycans, comprising:

• a processor configured to perform operations of:
• receiving at least one mass spectrum of at least one glycan, wherein at least one of said peaks in said at least one mass spectrum corresponds to a measured mass of said at least one glycan;
• constructing a monosaccharide set table for possible glycans, wherein at least one row represents the monosaccharide composition of at least one possible glycan;
• applying a set of rules generated for the at least one glycan based on experimental and/or biosynthetic conditions, which limit the number of the potential glycans;
• eliminating rows from the monosaccharide set table which do not satisfy said set of rules;
• calculating at least one theoretical mass for at least one remaining glycan in the monosaccharide set table;
• and,
• assigning at least one glycan to the at least one peak by comparing said measured mass to said theoretical mass.