title: The size and shape of three water-soluble, non-ionic polysaccharides produced by lactic acid bacteria: A comparative study.
abstract: Three water-soluble, non-ionic extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) obtained from lactic acid bacteria (S. thermophilus THS, L. helveticus K16 and S. thermophilus ST1) were subjected to a comparative study by means of multidetector size-exclusion chromatography, providing distributions and averages of molar masses, radii of gyration and intrinsic viscosities. All polysaccharides displayed random coil character. Further analysis of the data reveals differences in chain stiffness and extension that could be well correlated to structural features. The calculated persistence lengths ranged from 5 to 10nm and fall within the range typical for many single-stranded bacterial or plant polysaccharides. The ST1 polysaccharide had the highest molar mass but the lowest persistence length, which is attributed to the presence of the flexible (1→6)-linkage in the main chain.
authors.affiliation: NOBIPOL, Department of Biotechnology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address: marianne.dalheim@ntnu.no.
authors.forename: Marianne Øksnes
authors.initials: MØ
authors.lastname: Dalheim
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address: nina.arnfinnsdottir@ntnu.no.
authors.forename: Nina Bjørk
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Arnfinnsdottir
authors.affiliation: Department of Organic Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: gw@organ.su.se.
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Widmalm
authors.affiliation: NOBIPOL, Department of Biotechnology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491 Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address: bjorn.e.christensen@ntnu.no.
authors.forename: Bjørn E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Christensen
mesh_terms: D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000737:chemistry*; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry*; D012995:Solubility; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000737:chemistry*; D014783:Viscosity; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D014867:Water
keywords: EPS; Intrinsic viscosity; Lactic acid bacteria; Persistence length; SEC-MALLS