Low Molecular Weight Derivatives Of Ionic Polysaccharide (Essay Sample)

Low Molecular Weight Derivatives of Ionic Polysaccharide
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Low Molecular Weight Derivatives of Ionic Polysaccharide
Naturally, polysaccharides are carbohydrates formed by repeating units of sugars which are utilized within their natural and altered sorts of organic and industrialized processes.
Polysaccharides can be manipulated both chemically and structurally depending on the form in which they are in (Brant, 1981). When dealing with polysaccharides we shall be looking at the two components namely heparin and cellulose.
Low molecular weight Heparin is a class of anticoagulant which are used in the prevention of blood clots in medication. It is a polysaccharide which inhibits coagulation. Natural ones consist of molecular chains of different lengths and weights (Brant, 1981). It is derived from natural sources, porcine or bovine lung in particular.
Cellulose on the other hand is an organic compound with the formula (C6H10O5)n,. It is a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of hundreds to thousands of linked D-glucose units. It is the most abundant organic polymer available.
In a nutshell Food proteins and polysaccharides are the two critical structural entities in food materials. Generally, interactions between proteins and polysaccharides in aqueous media can lead to one- or two-phase systems, the latter being generally observed (Harding et al., n.d.). In some cases of protein-polysaccharide net attraction, mainly mediated through electrostatic interactions, complex associative phase separation occurs, giving rise to the formation of protein-polysaccharide complexes.
Physicochemical factors such as pH, ionic strength, ratio of protein to polysaccharide, polysaccharide and protein charge, and molecular weight affect the formation and stability of such complexes (Harding et al., n.d.). Addit...