The detection of microquantities of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in biological samples has been hampered by the lack of sensitive methods. In this paper we describe the modification and development of three sensitive assays capable of detecting nanogram quantities of GAGs in biological samples. The first assay detects total GAGs. It is a modified Alcian blue dye precipitation assay in which the dye binds to the negatively charged GAGs in CsCl-fractionated extracts from chicken tendons. This assay compares favorably with the widely used uronic acid assay in terms of its sensitivity and ability to detect all classes of GAGs, including keratan sulfate (KS). Two other assays, dot-blotting and immunoblotting, detect KS in complex mixtures and can be easily adapted for the detection of other GAGs. Both take advantage of binding of carboxyl and sulfate groups of GAGs to trivalent neodymium. In dot-blotting, samples were directly blotted onto nitrocellulose membrane soaked in Nd(2)(SO(4))(3) buffer, and KS was detected with the monoclonal anti-KS 5-D-4 antibody and an avidin-biotin complex detection system. In immunoblotting, the samples were first separated in 28% polyacrylamide gels, transferred onto a Nd(2)(SO(4))(3)-soaked nitrocellulose membrane using a phosphate buffer system, and stained and developed using the same protocol as in dot-blotting. Whereas dot-blotting allows the use of very low quantities of samples because of its high sensitivity (lower detection limit was 5 ng), immunoblotting provides more specificity.