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Analysis of E. coli K5 capsular polysaccharide heparosan

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Abstract

Heparosan is the key precursor for the preparation of bioengineered heparin, a potential replacement for porcine intestinal heparin, an important anticoagulant drug. The molecular weight (MW) distribution of heparosan produced by the fermentation of E. coli K5 was investigated. Large-slab isocratic and mini-slab gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) were used to analyze the MW and polydispersity of heparosan. A preparative method that allowed fractionation by continuous-elution PAGE was used to obtain heparosan MW standards. The MWs of the heparosan standards were determined by electrospray ionization Fourier-transform mass spectrometry (ESI-FT-MS). A ladder of the standards was then used to determine the MW properties of polydisperse heparosan samples. Unbleached and bleached heparosan produced by fermentation of E. coli K5 had similar number-averaged MWs (MN), weight-averaged MWs (MW), and MW ranges of 3,000 to 150,000 Da.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the National Institutes of Health for supporting this research with grants GM38060 and HL096972.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 Eight Street, Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    Mellisa Ly, Tatiana N. Laremore & Robert J. Linhardt

  2. Department of Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 Eight Street, Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    Zhenyu Wang, Jonathan S. Dordick & Robert J. Linhardt

  3. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 Eight Street, Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    Fuming Zhang, Jonathan S. Dordick & Robert J. Linhardt

  4. Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 Eight Street, Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    Dennis Pu, Dmitri V. Zagorevski, Jonathan S. Dordick & Robert J. Linhardt

  5. Department of Biotechnology, College of Biological & Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, China

    Weihong Zhong

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  1. Mellisa Ly
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  2. Zhenyu Wang
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  3. Tatiana N. Laremore
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  4. Fuming Zhang
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  7. Dmitri V. Zagorevski
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  9. Robert J. Linhardt
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Correspondence to Robert J. Linhardt.

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Ly, M., Wang, Z., Laremore, T.N. et al. Analysis of E. coli K5 capsular polysaccharide heparosan. Anal Bioanal Chem 399, 737–745 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-010-3679-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-010-3679-7

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