Interference of Sulfate Esterification in the Detection of Polysaccharide Molecular Weight
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Abstract:
Sulfate esterification facilitates a number of biological activities, such as antiviral and anticoagulant effects, that are unique to polysaccharides. Its activity is strictly controlled by molecular weight. However, dextran is widely used as the standard substance in the determination of the molecular weights of sulfated polysaccharides and its use inevitably leads to the misjudgment of active sulfated polysaccharide molecular weight. The rheological mechanic differences between standard dextran and dextran sulfate were observed by comparing the characteristic viscous parameters of the two substances. An improved Mark-Houwink-Sakurada (MHS) model and conventional column chromatography were used to analyze the interference of sulfate esterification in the detection of polysaccharide molecular weight. The results showed that dextran and dextran sulfate have different fluid mechanics. The gradient of the correlation equation for dextran concentration and its reduced viscosity was positive, whereas that for dextran sulfate was negative. Improved MHS model also demonstrated significant differences in the specific coefficients in the DB equations of the two polysaccharides. The results of column chromatography showed that the molecular weight detected with dextran sulfate was far greater than the true value if dextran was used as the standard substance. In summary, sulfate esterification may change the rheological behavior of polysaccharides and is thus a fundamental cause for the misjudgment of polysaccharide molecular weight measured using normal detection methods.
