title: Pullulan: an exopolysaccharide and its various applications.
abstract: Pullulan is a non-ionic polysaccharide obtained from fermentation of black yeast like Aureobasidium pullulans and is currently exploited in food and pharmaceutical industries due to its unique characteristics. Due to its properties like non-toxic, non-immunogenic, non-carcinogenic, non-mutagenic, pullulan is being explored for various biomedical applications viz., gene delivery, targeted drug therapy, tissue engineering, wound healing, and also being used in diagnostic applications like, perfusion, receptor, and lymph node target specific imaging and vascular compartment imaging. The unique linkage of α (1→4) and α (1→6) in pullulan endows this polymer with distinctive physical traits, including adhesive property and the ability to form fibers. This review article presents an historical outline, overview of properties, production, derivatives of pullulan, its versatile applicability and recent advances of pullulan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics, SSR College of Pharmacy, Saily-Silvassa Road, Saily, Silvassa, U.T. of Dadra and Nagar Haveli 396230, India. vippra2000@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Vipul D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Prajapati
authors.forename: Girish K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Jani
authors.forename: Simin M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Khanda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005936:Glucans / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D005936:Glucans; C009109:pullulan