STRUCTURE FUNCTION RELATIONSHIPS IN POLYSACCHARIDES

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中利用 资源由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。子项目和 调查员(PI)可能从NIH的另一个来源获得了主要资金， 并因此可以在其他清晰的条目中表示。列出的机构是 该中心不一定是调查人员的机构。 多糖是生物体中普遍存在的一类独特的生物聚合物。它们表现出各种各样的独特结构，导致单螺旋、双螺旋和三螺旋的片状和螺旋状。许多多糖是水溶性的，能够显著改变溶液的性质，如质地、凝胶和粘度，仅举几例。在这方面，对多糖结构的洞察有助于理解和预测它们的功能。因此，阐明多糖的结构及其与溶剂和溶质分子的相互作用，以及混合多糖体系中的协同作用，有助于深入了解它们的结构-功能关系，从而开发具有更好功能的生物聚合物。在这方面，目前的建议是关于确定一些具有生物重要性和工业用途的多糖的分子结构。这项研究包括藻类(IOTA、kappa和lambda carrageenans)、细菌(结冷胶类似物和洋葱)、木材(半乳甘露聚糖)和二元体系(丙烷：葡甘聚糖、玉米阿拉伯木聚糖：葡甘聚糖)的样品。此外，我们最近的研究表明，几种药物分子、营养食品或维生素可以嵌入到结晶的IOTA-卡拉胶网络中，从而形成新型的聚合物共晶体。为了了解小分子与多糖骨架之间的内在相互作用，从而了解小分子的释放规律，我们的第二个目标是利用FDA批准的食品多糖与小药物分子以及营养食品相结合的方法来表征几种聚合物共晶体的结构。希望这些结果将有助于理解多糖：药物相互作用，以开发控释载体。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Polysaccharides comprise a distinct class of biopolymers produced universally among the living organisms. They exhibit a wide variety of unique structures leading to sheets and spirals of single, double and triple helices. Many polysaccharides are water soluble and are capable of significantly altering the solution properties such as texture, gelation and viscosity, to name a few. In this regard, insights about of polysaccharides architecture aid in understanding and predicting their functionality. Hence, elucidation of polysaccharide structures and their interactions with solvent and solute molecules as well as the synergistic interactions in mixed polysaccharide systems provides insights about their structure-function relationships towards developing biopolymers with improved functionality. In this regard, the current proposal is about determining the molecular architecture of a number of biologically important and industrially useful polysaccharides. The study includes the samples from algal (iota, kappa and lambda carrageenans); bacterial (gellan analog and cepacian); wood (galactoglucomannan) and binary system (acetan: glucomannan, corn arabinoxylan: glucomannan). Further, our recent research demonstrates that several drug molecules, nutraceuticals or vitamins can be embedded in the crystalline iota-carrageenan network leading to novel polymeric cocrystals. In order to gain knowledge about the intrinsic interactions between the small molecules with the polysaccharide backbone, so as to understanding the release profile of the small molecules, our second aim is centered on structural characterization of several polymeric cocrystals utilizing FDA approved food polysaccharides combined with small drug molecules as well as nutraceuticals. It is hoped that these results would be helpful in understanding the polysaccharide:drug interactions towards the development of controlled release vehicles.