A novel enzymatic process for glycogen production

Two well-established methods to prepare glycogen are available: (1) extraction from natural resources such as shellfish and animal tissues; (2) synthesis from glucose-1-phosphate using two enzymes, α-glucan phosphorylase (EC 2.4.1.1) and branching enzyme (EC 2.4.1.18). We have developed a novel enzymatic process for glycogen production, in which short-chain amylose is first prepared from starch or dextrin by using isoamylase (EC 3.2.1.68), and then branching enzyme and amylomaltase (EC 2.4.1.25) are added to synthesize glycogen. Our enzymatic process, using isoamylase, branching enzyme and amylomaltase, is currently the most efficient for glycogen production. Furthermore, the molecular weight of glycogen is controllable in a range of 3.0×10⁶ to 3.0×10⁷ by adjusting some parameters of the reaction.     

HBP-NH2 grafted cotton fiber: Preparation and salt-free dyeing properties

In order to achieve salt-free dyeing on cotton fiber with reactive dyes, an amino-terminated hyperbranched polymer (HBP-NH₂) grafted cotton fiber (HGCF) was prepared by the oxidation of cotton fiber with sodium periodate in water and subsequent grafted with an aqueous solution of HBP-NH₂. Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR) of the HGCF indicated that all aldehyde groups of the oxidized cotton fiber have reacted with amino groups of the HBP-NH₂. As a result, the HGCF fabrics prepared under the optimum conditions displayed markedly enhanced colour strength when dyed with reactive dyes using salt-free dyeing. The washing fastness, rubbing fastness and levelling properties of the dyed HGCF fabrics were also good compared with those obtained by conventional dyeing. The zeta-potential of the HGCF in liquid phase was tested and found to be positive at pHs lower than 6.5. The dyeing behaviour of Reactive Brilliant Yellow A-4GLN on the HGCF was found to follow a Langmuir-type adsorption curve.     

Determination of molecular size and shape of hyperbranched polysaccharide in solution

The chemical structure of a water-soluble polysaccharide, coded as TM3b, extracted from sclerotia of Pleurotus tuber-rigium was analyzed to be a hyperbranched beta-D-glucan with beta-(1-->6), beta-(1-->4), and beta-(1-->3)-linked residues, with degree of branching (DB) of 57.6%. The results from size-exclusion chromatography combined with laser light scattering (SEC-LLS) revealed that the hyperbranched polysaccharide easily aggregated in 0.15 M aqueous NaCl, whereas it dispersed as individual chains in DMSO. The weight-average molecular weight (M(w)), radius of gyration, intrinsic viscosity, and chain density of TM3b in DMSO and in 0.15 M aqueous NaCl were measured with SEC-LLS, LLS, and viscometry. The results indicated that single chains and aggregates with aggregation number of 12 coexisted in the aqueous solution, whereas individual molecules of TM3b occurred in DMSO. In view of the molecular parameters, the aggregates in aqueous solution exhibited more compact chain structure than the individual molecules in DMSO. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy showed that all of the aggregates and individual molecules exhibited spherical particles in the solutions. This work provided the valuable information of chain conformation and molecular morphology of the hyperbranched polysaccharide in different solvents.     

Hyperbranched polylysines modified with histidine and arginine: The optimization of their DNA compacting and endosomolytic properties

The DNA compacting and transfection properties of hyperbranched polylysines whose N-terminal amino groups were modified with histidine and arginine were studied. The histidine-modified hyperbranched polylysines were shown to provide higher efficacy of binding and transfection in comparison with unmodified or hyperbranched arginine-containing polylysines. This fact was explained by the intrinsic endosomolytic activity of the histidine-modified polymers. The dependence between the quantity of the amino acids that modified the terminal lysine residues in the hyperbranched polylysines, the efficacy of their DNA binding, and the transfection activity of the DNA complexes with the corresponding carriers was found. The possibility to increase the transfection activity of the DNA complexes with the hyperbranched polylysines by glycerin or the JTS-1 amphipathic nonapeptide was studied. At the same time, their simultaneous use was found to result in a transfection decrease.     

Antigens Protected Functional Red Blood Cells By The Membrane Grafting Of Compact Hyperbranched Polyglycerols

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is vital for the treatment of a number of acute and chronic medical problems such as thalassemia major and sickle cell anemia ^1-3. Due to the presence of multitude of antigens on the RBC surface (~308 known antigens ⁴), patients in the chronic blood transfusion therapy develop alloantibodies due to the miss match of minor antigens on transfused RBCs ^{4, 5}. Grafting of hydrophilic polymers such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) and hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) forms an exclusion layer on RBC membrane that prevents the interaction of antibodies with surface antigens without affecting the passage of small molecules such as oxygen ,glucose, and ions³. At present no method is available for the generation of universal red blood donor cells in part because of the daunting challenge presented by the presence of large number of antigens (protein and carbohydrate based) on the RBC surface and the development of such methods will significantly improve transfusion safety, and dramatically improve the availability and use of RBCs. In this report, the experiments that are used to develop antigen protected functional RBCs by the membrane grafting of HPG and their characterization are presented. HPGs are highly biocompatible compact polymers ^{6, 7}, and are expected to be located within the cell glycocalyx that surrounds the lipid membrane ^{8, 9} and mask RBC surface antigens^{10, 11}.     

Optically active amphiphilic hyperbranched polyglycerols as templates for palladium nanoparticles

We report a systematic study on the encapsulation of palladium nanoparticles in optically active amphiphilic hyperbranched polyglycerols with different optical signs and different degrees of polymerization, namely (−)-P(G₄₀C16_0.5) 1 and (+)-P(G₇₃C16_0.5) 2. Several issues have been addressed here: (a) relatively wide size distributions (1-5 nm) of palladium nanoparticles have been achieved, (b) a remarkable template effect (1, DP_n = 40, 1.2 ± 0.1 nm; 2, DP_n = 73, 2.3 ± 0.1 nm average particle size) has been observed using TEM technique, as shown by the particle size dependent on the degree of polymerization of the polymers, (c) NaBH₄ is found to be a convenient reducing agent to produce small particle size compared with gaseous hydrogen, (d) catalytic Heck reaction of 2,3-dihydrofuran and aryl triflate has been tested successfully without enantiocontrol.     

Preparation and metal-binding behaviour of chitosan functionalized by ester- and amino-terminated hyperbranched polyamidoamine polymers

A series of insoluble chitosan (CTS) derivatives were prepared by grafting ester- and amino-terminated dendrimer-like polyamidoamine (PAMAM) into CTS using a divergent method by repeating two processes: (1) Michael addition of methyl acrylate (MA) to surface amino groups, and (2) amidation of the resulting esters with ethylenediamine (EDA). Their structures were characterized by infrared spectra (IR) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). The adsorption capabilities of the products for Au(3+), Pd(2+), Pt(4+), Ag(+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Hg(2+), Ni(2+), and Cd(2+) were studied. The results showed that the products exhibited better adsorption capabilities for Au(3+) and Hg(2+) than for other metal ions, and the adsorption capabilities of amino-terminated products were higher than those of ester-terminated ones. Also it was observed that a high percentage of grafting of PAMAM into CTS does not ensure a high adsorption capacity.