The invention provides a method for the structural analysis of a saccharide, comprising: a) providing on a surface a plurality of essentially sequence- and/or site-specific binding agents; b) contacting said surface with a saccharide to be analyzed, or with a mixture comprising a plurality of fragments of said saccharide; c) washing or otherwise removing unbound saccharide or saccharide fragments; d) adding to the surface obtained in step c) an essentially sequence- and/or site-specific marker, or a mixture of essentially sequence- and/or site-specific markers; e) acquiring one or more images of the markers that are bound to said surface; and f) deriving information related to the identity of the saccharide being analyzed from said image.