| polySia | polysialic acid |
| Sia | mono-sialic acid |
| CMP-Sia | cytidine monophosphate-sialic acid |
| NCAMs | neural cell adhesion molecules |
| polySTs | polysialyltransferases (ST8Sia II (STX) & ST8Sia IV (PST) |
| PSTD | polysialyltransferase domain |
| SL | sialyllactose |
| SMO | sialylated milk oligosaccharide |
| HMO | human milk oligosaccharide |
| CSP | chemical shift perturbation |