| Abstract: | Hydrolysis of (1 → 6)-α-DL -glucopyranan (synthetic DL -dextran) by an endo-dextranase from a Penicillium species was examined in an acetate buffer solution (pH 5.3) at 37°C. Three samples of different tacticities (isotactic dyad content, 55, 63, and 72%) were employed with a clinical dextran for comparison. Colorimetric determination of the reducing end units of the saccharides produced during hydrolysis showed that the maximum degrees of hydrolysis based on the D-glucose units, (D.H.)D, for the DL -dextrans were 21.4, 27.8, and 33.0% in the order of increasing isotacitic dyad content, whereas the (D.H.)D value for the clinical dextran was 51.9%. A statistical treatment of the enzymatic hydrolysis is proposed to interpret the experimental results. |
