Application

Use of dextrans as long and hydrophilic spacer arms improves the performance of immobilized proteins acting on macromolecules.

Dextran from Leuconostoc mesenteroides (Mw: 1000), has been used as an analytical standard to calibrate the column for gel permeation chromatography (GPC) for the analysis of the carbohydrate.

General description

Dextran is a polysaccharide having predominantly α-1,6-glucosidic linkages, which is produced by the bacterial species, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, which grow exclusively on sucrose containing media.

Dextran is a polysaccharide having predominantly α-1,6-glucosidic linkages, which is produced by the bacterial species, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, which grow exclusively on sucrose containing media.

Dextrans are polysaccharides with molecular weights ≥1,000 Dalton, with a linear backbone of α-linked D-glucopyranosyl repeating units. Dextrans are found as bacterial extracellular polysaccharides. They are synthesized from sucrose by Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Lactobacillus brevis. Bacteria employ dextran in biofilm formation or as protective coatings to evade host phagocytes in the case of pathogenic bacteria.