Presented herein are a variety of methods for the attachment of saccharides to the surface of microtiter plates through long-chain hydrocarbons capable of binding to the polystyrene surface through noncovalent interaction. These glycolipids have the benefit of diverse and facile conjugation procedures and the ability to withstanding a range of biological assays. On addition of carbohydrates to the microtiter plate well, a suitable surface for both ELISA and enzymatic transformation is available, making the saccharide arrays useful for high-throughput study of specificity and inhibition in sugar-protein interactions.