Purification and Chemical Properties of a Flocculant Produced by Paecilomyces

A new flocculant for microbial cells was purified by ethanol precipitation and gel chromatography from the culture fluid of Paecilomyces sp. I-1. Isoelectric focusing of the flocculant (PF-101) showed a single band at pH 8.5, and its molecular weight was estimated to be over 300,000 daltons by the ultra-filtration method. The results of elemental analysis, the IR spectrum and investigation of the acid hydrolysate by gas and liquid chromatography and colorimetrie analysis suggested that PF-101 was a polysaccharide composed of galactosamine. About 80% of the galactosamine residues were N-unsubstituted and 8% were N-acetylated. Studies on deaminative cleavage, periodate oxidation and Smith degradation suggested that the galactosamine residues were mainly linked by α (→4)-linkaees.