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。 我们的长期目标是阐明生物聚合物的分子结构，特别是多糖，以及它们与溶剂和溶质分子的相互作用，以及混合多糖中的协同作用，以深入了解它们的结构-功能关系。在这方面，这项建议的主要重点是确定一些具有重要生物学意义和工业用途的多糖的三维结构。我们正在进行的研究将包括但不限于(根据需要)藻类(IOTA、kappa和lambda carrageenans)、细菌(结冷胶类似物和洋葱)、真菌(葡醛酸木甘露聚糖)、植物(鼠李糖醛酸半乳糖甘露聚糖)、木材(半乳甘露聚糖)和二元体系(细菌黄原胶：植物葡甘露聚糖和细菌乙腈：植物葡甘露聚糖)的标本。此外，我们正在探索将多糖纤维用作可能的药物载体。在这方面，最初，卡拉胶纤维与一些已知的小分子络合将进行测试，以获得结晶衍射图并描绘药物与卡拉胶的相互作用。 这些多糖或多糖复合体具有形成螺旋结构的固有倾向，仅具有有限的侧向有序性，不适合生长单晶。因此，纤维衍射是可视化其三维结构的唯一方法。这些结构信息对于了解它们与溶剂和溶质分子的相互作用以及与其他多糖的相互作用，以便在食品和医药应用中有效地利用它们是至关重要的。这一结果将进一步突出多糖的构象空间，因为它们存在于糖胺聚糖和细胞壁中。

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. Our long term goals are to elucidate biopolymers molecular structures, especially polysaccharides, and their interactions with solvent and solute molecules and the synergistic interactions in mixed polysaccharides towards gaining insights about their structure-function relationships. In this regard, the main thrust of this proposal is centered on determining the three-dimensional structures of a number of biologically important and industrially useful polysaccharides. Our ongoing study will include, but not limited to (as need arises), the specimens from algal (iota, kappa and lambda carrageenans); bacterial (gellan analog and cepacian); fungal (glucuronoxylomannan); plant (rhamnogalacturonan); wood (galactoglucomannan) and a binary system (bacterial xanthan:plant glucomannan and bacterial acetan:plant glucomannan). Further, we are in the process of exploring the use of polysaccharide fibers as possible drug carriers. In this regard, initially, carrageenan fibers complexed with some known small molecules will be tested towards obtaining crystalline diffraction patterns and delineating the drug-carrageenan interactions. These polysaccharides or polysaccharide complexes have an inherent tendency to form helical structures with only limited lateral ordering and are not amenable for growing single crystals. Hence, fiber diffraction is the only method of choice for visualizing their three-dimensional organization. Such structural information is essential towards understanding their interactions with solvent and solute molecules as well as with other polysaccharides for their effective utilization in food and pharmaceutical applications. The results will further highlight the conformational space available to polysaccharides as they occur in glycosaminoglycans and cellular walls.