Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 19, 2025
11:06
Structural Characterization of Mannan Cell Wall Polysaccharides in Plants Using PACE
Published on: October 16, 2017
10.0K
Colloidal features of softwood galactoglucomannans-rich extract
Mamata Bhattarai1, Irina Sulaeva2, Leena Pitkänen1
1Department of Food and Nutrition,University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 66, Helsinki 00014, Finland.
Carbohydrate Polymers
|June 9, 2020
Summary
Valorizing wood hemicelluloses requires understanding their complex structures. Asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) effectively characterized galactoglucomannans (GGM), revealing their macromolecular features for bioeconomy applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomass valorization and bioeconomy development.
- Macromolecular characterization of complex carbohydrates.
- Application of renewable wood resources.
Background:
- Sustainable bioeconomies depend on utilizing renewable resources like wood hemicelluloses.
- Hemicelluloses exhibit complex structures due to intra- and inter-molecular associations.
- Conventional characterization methods struggle with heterogeneous biomass-derived materials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize galactoglucomannans (GGM)-rich softwood extracts.
- To optimize Asymmetrical Flow Field-Flow Fractionation (AF4) for complex carbohydrate analysis.
- To understand the macromolecular features of GGM for potential applications.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Asymmetrical Flow Field-Flow Fractionation (AF4) for size fractionation.
- Employed light scattering and microscopy for subsequent characterization.
- Analyzed crude and ethanol-precipitated GGM extracts.
Main Results:
- Identified polysaccharides with a molar mass of approximately 10,000 g/mol in GGM extracts.
- Detected colloidal assemblies and sub-micron particles within the extracts.
- Optimized AF4 method enabled characterization without prior fractionation.
Conclusions:
- AF4 is a powerful tool for analyzing complex biomass-derived carbohydrates.
- The study provides insights into GGM macromolecular features.
- Findings support the application of GGM in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Cellulose and Pectic Polysaccharides
4.4K
Every plant cell has a cell wall that protects the cell, provides structural support, and gives the cell shape. Cellulose, the main structural component of the plant cell wall, makes up over 30% of plant matter. It is the most abundant organic compound on earth. Cellulose is an unbranched polysaccharide composed of linear chains of glucose molecules linked by β (1→4) glycosidic bonds.
As a cell matures, its cell wall specializes according to its type. For example, the...
As a cell matures, its cell wall specializes according to its type. For example, the...
4.4K
01:24Oligosaccharide Assembly
3.4K
Protein glycosylation starts in the ER lumen and continues in the Golgi apparatus. Glycosyltransferases catalyze the addition of sugar molecules or glycosylation of proteins. Usually, these enzymes add sugars to the hydroxyl groups of selected serine or threonine residues to form O-linked glycans or the amino groups of asparagine residues to form N-linked glycans. Different positions on the same polypeptide chain can contain differently linked glycans.
Multiple sugar molecules that may or may...
Multiple sugar molecules that may or may...
3.4K
01:28Softwoods and Hardwoods
402
Softwoods and hardwoods, derived from different types of trees, are distinguished by their leaf structures and cellular compositions, each serving unique purposes in construction and manufacturing. Softwoods come from cone-bearing trees with needle-like leaves and are predominantly composed of longitudinal cells called tracheids and a smaller proportion of radial cells known as rays. Due to their cellular structure, softwoods are commonly used in construction for structural frames, sheathing,...
402
01:26Biosynthesis of Polysaccharides
444
Polysaccharides such as glycogen and starch are synthesized from nucleoside diphosphate sugars, primarily uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPG) and adenosine diphosphate glucose (ADPG). These activated glucose donors act as key intermediates in carbohydrate metabolism and biosynthesis. UDPG primarily involves glycogen synthesis in animals and many bacteria, while ADPG plays a fundamental role in starch synthesis in plants and certain bacteria.UDPG is formed when glucose-1-phosphate reacts with...
444
01:23Glycosaminoglycans
6.5K
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), also known as mucopolysaccharides, are long and linear polymers comprising of specific repeating disaccharides - the amino sugar that can be N-acetylglucosamine or N-acetylgalactosamine, and a uronic acid that is usually glucuronic acid or iduronic acid.
GAGS are found in the extracellular matrix of vertebrates, invertebrates, and bacteria. Due to their polar nature they attract water, and serve as excellent lubricants or shock absorbers in an animal body.
Hyaluronic...
GAGS are found in the extracellular matrix of vertebrates, invertebrates, and bacteria. Due to their polar nature they attract water, and serve as excellent lubricants or shock absorbers in an animal body.
Hyaluronic...
6.5K
01:05Proteoglycans
4.5K
Glycans, a class of complex heterogeneous molecules, can be covalently attached to proteins to form glycosylated proteins that regulate various physiological and pathological processes. Glycosylated proteins or glycoproteins comprise N-linked and O-linked oligosaccharides. O-glycosylation is the most common type of protein glycosylation. Here, glycans attach to the oxygen atom of the hydroxyl groups of Serine or Threonine residues. O-linked glycosylation occurs later in protein processing,...
4.5K