To date, mass spectrometric analysis of biomolecules has been primarily performed with either matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) or electrospray ionization (ESI). In this work, ultrasound produced by a simple piezoelectric device is shown as an alternative method for soft ionization of biomolecules. Precursor ions of proteins, saccharides and fatty acids showed little fragmenta...

Extracellular polymeric substances are defined as high molecular weight compounds secreted by the microorganisms in the surrounding area. Since these extracellular substances are mainly polysaccharide, they are named exopolysaccharide. Microbial exopolysaccharides composed of sugar residue have growing interest as a new class of microbial products which can be used in food, pharmaceutical, and ...

Using a battery of seven lectin-ferritin conjugates as probes for cell surface glycoconjugates, we have studied the pattern of plasmalemmal differentiation of cells in the embryonic rat pancreas from day 15 in utero to the early postpartum stage. Our results indicate that differentiation of plasmalemmal glycoconjugates on acinar, endocrine, and centroacinar cells is temporally correlated with d...

Pseudorotaxane formed by reacting beta-cyclodextrin bearing a phenylboronic acid residue with 1-heptyl-4-(4'-dimethylaminostyryl)pyridinium functioned as a novel fluorescent saccharide receptor having unique responses.

The peptide antibiotic tridecaptin caused a 2--4-fold stimulation in the incorporation of mannose from GDP-[14C]mannose and glucose from UDP-[3H]glucose into lipid-linked monosaccharides by both the particulate and the soluble enzyme fractions from pig aorta. In both cases, the major products and the ones stimulated by antibiotic were dolichyl phosphate mannose and dolichyl phosphate glucose. T...

The synthesis of novel carbohydrate-based polymers allows the structure to be tailored at the monomer level for a specific property and expands the range of available structures beyond those found in nature. Using a controlled anionic polymerization, a new type of carbohydrate polymer is synthesized in which glucose-derived monomers are joined by an α-1,2 amide linkage to give enantiopure poly-...

The turbidimetric methods here described are based on the formation of relatively insoluble complexes between isolated acid mucopolysaccharides and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide.’ Some of the properties of these complexes have recently been described by Scott (1). We found that the amount of turbidity developed when the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide is added to a solution of acid mucopolysacc...

he prefix “poly” makes us think of synthetics which are formed by polymerization of smaller units (monomers). As a matter of fact, polysaccharides are biopolymers composed of differently linked single sugar molecules. As a result the characteristics of the sugars completely change. The best known monomer sugars (monosaccharides) are glucose (dextrose, grape sugar), fructose and galactose. Monos...

On exposure to sucrose or neutral polysaccharides, cell cultures from human synovium showed cytoplasmic vacuolation, increased numbers of lysosomes, and ultrastructural changes simulating those described in rheumatoid synovial intima and similarly treated embryonic caritlage and bone. These changes were accompanied by raised intracellular lysosomal enzyme activity without corresponding increase...

Motivation Carbohydrates play crucial roles in various biochemical processes and are useful for developing drugs and vaccines. However, in case of carbohydrates, the primary structure elucidation is usually a sophisticated task. Therefore, they remain the least structurally characterized class of biomolecules, and it hampers the progress in glycochemistry and glycobiology. Creating a usable ins...