title: Polysaccharide nanofiber made from euglenoid alga.
abstract: We have fabricated a polysaccharide nanofiber made from paramylon (β-1,3-glucan), a storage polysaccharide stored as a micrometer-sized particle in the cell of euglenoid alga. Preparation of this nanofiber primarily hinges on the bottom-up approach. First, paramylon, which is originally present in the form of a bundle of nanofibers in a particle, was fibrillated to a randomly coiled polymer by dissolving the particle in a 1.0-mol/L NaOH aqueous solution. Second, the randomly coiled polymer was allowed to self-assemble into a triplex as the NaOH concentration was reduced to 0.25-0.20mol/L. Third, a 20-nm-width nanofiber made from the triplex emerged in the solution when the NaOH concentration was reduced to approximately 0.20mol/L.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Central 6th, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan. moto.shibakami@aist.go.jp
authors.forename: Motonari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shibakami
authors.forename: Gen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tsubouchi
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hayashi
mesh_terms: D002942:Circular Dichroism; D005056:Euglena gracilis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology; D005936:Glucans / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012972:Sodium Hydroxide / Q000737:chemistry; D012995:Solubility; D012996:Solutions / Q000737:chemistry; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D005936:Glucans; D011134:Polysaccharides; D012996:Solutions; C003045:paramylon; D012972:Sodium Hydroxide