Vibrational spectroscopy and electrophoresis as a "golden means" in monitoring of polysaccharides in medical plant and gels.

In recent years, some bioactive polysaccharides isolated from natural sources have attracted much attention in the field of biochemistry and pharmacology. Of them, polysaccharides or their glycoconjugates were shown to exhibit multiple biological activities including anticarcinogenic, anticoagulant, immunostimulating, antioxidant, etc. Pharmacotherapy using plant-derived substances can be currently regarded as a very promising future alternative to conventional therapy. The advanced biotechnologies available today enable chemical investigation of well-defined bioactive plant components as sources of novel drugs. The need for safer drugs without side effects has led to the use of natural ingredients with proven safety. Special interest is focused on plant polysaccharides. This article attempts to review the current structural and conformational characterization of some importantly bioactive monosaccharides isolated from following plant cell-wall: Symphytum officinale (comfrey), Thymus pulegioides (thyme), Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (fenugreek), Tussilago farfara L. (coltsfoot), Hyssopus officinalis (hyssop), Althaea officinalis L. (marshmallow) and Equisetum arvense L. (horsetail). The chemical structures of monosaccharides were analysed using FTIR and Raman spectroscopies as well as cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis (CAE). The dried plant samples were gently hydrolysed with sulphuric acid. The presence of glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, alginic acid, glucose, mannose and xylose in the hydrolysates of reference substances and non-defatted plant films was proved. The possibility of a taxonomic classification of plant cell walls based on infrared and Raman spectroscopies and the use of spectral fingerprinting for authentication and detection of adulteration of products rich in cell-wall materials are discussed. Individual bands were selected to monitor the sugar content in medical plant cell walls and to confirm the identity of the analysed plants.

Mild acid hydrolysis of fucoidan: characterization by electrophoresis and FT-Raman spectroscopy.

Along with proteins, lipids, water and minerals, polysaccharides are the main chemical compounds of which macroalgae are built. Among the chemical compounds now widely examined is fucoidan (fucan, fucosan, sulfate fucan or sulfated fucan), a fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharide. Fucoidans isolated from different species have been extensively studied because of their varied biological properties, including anticoagulant and antitumor effects. Methodology based on mild acid hydrolysis can be used as an efficient tool to study the relationship between molecular weight of the sulfated polysaccharides and their biological activities. Anticancer activity of fucoidans can be significantly enhanced by lowering their molecular weight only when they are depolymerized under mild conditions. In this study, fucoidan was identified during extraction with H(2)SO(4) and HCl; its presence was confirmed by FT-Raman spectroscopy in aqueous solution. In particular, shifts at 840cm(-1) were analysed, which are due to the presence of sulfate at the axial C-4 position, as were the shifts at about 811-809cm(-1), for which the sulfated fucoidan is responsible. Shifts of electrophoretic bands of fucoidan resulting from mild acid hydrolysis in H(2)SO(4) and HCl were also analysed. The analytical procedure was developed using apparatus for cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis and this was supplemented by semi-quantitative analysis.

Cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis and FTIR spectroscopy as methods of identifying a fucoidan in Fucusvesiculosus Linnaeus.

A fucoidan from brown algae such as the common bladder wrack (Fucusvesiculosus Linnaeus) is now widely examined in many countries for its interesting biological and therapeutic properties. In this study, the fucoidan was identified during extraction in hydrochloric acid; its presence was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. Two slightly different structures were found in real samples of dried bladder wrack supplied by Flos and Witherba, by comparing them with a reference sample of F. vesiculosus L. A simple, repeatable analytical procedure was developed using apparatus for cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis and this was supplemented by semi-quantitative analysis.

Raman spectroscopy and WAXS method as a tool for analysing ion-exchange properties of alginate hydrogels.

Hydrogels are cross-linked three-dimensional macromolecular networks that contain a large fraction of water within their structure. One of the most important properties of alginate hydrogels, leading to their broad versatility, is their ability for controlled uptake, release and retention of molecules. This ability, in turn, is due to specific interactions of the macromolecular network with the diffusing or retained molecule. Raman spectroscopy has been employed to characterize the diffusion properties of solutes in hydrogels. Besides their application in the food sector, they are used in many biomedical, pharmaceutical and technical areas; for example, as a natural tissue or drug carriers. In the latter case, controlled release of drugs from a wound dressing is of particular interest-or ion exchange between the drug and the structure of the dressing. Raman active vibrations were used to show the areas responsible for the penetration of the model azo-dyes (based on non-genotoxic benzidine analogs) within Ca-alginate/carboxymethylcellulose Medisorb A wound dressing. In this case, the intensity of the stretching bands was used to obtain the concentration profiles of the model dye in alginate/carboxymethylcellulose gel (Medisorb A). The characteristic band at 1511 cm(-1) indicates that new band positions were observed following dye adsorption on wound dressing. The Raman spectra of alginate immersed for different times in Ringer's solution reveal peak shifts. Differences in peak shapes and the appearance of new bands are observed as the sodium content increased. Raman spectra give direct information on the exchange process. There are also new peaks appearing at 1034-1016 and 850 cm(-1) regions in the spectra after the release studies. This could, therefore, correspond to a partial bonding between sodium and oxygen atoms (the guluronic units originate a band at approximately 1025 cm(-1)). The aim of the examination in this paper also was to investigate the crystallinity index of Medisorb A wound dressing dyed (or undyed) and Medisorb A wound dressing after the release process in Ringer's solution (the crystallinity index is about 65%). In WAXS curves we can observed additional peaks (2theta at 32 degrees and 45 degrees ).

Detection and determination of aromatic amines as products of reductive splitting from selected azo dyes.

The current environment-friendly regulations concerning textile products ban the marketing of textiles dyed with azo dyes capable of reductively splitting carcinogenic aromatic amines. The study analyzes seven azo dyes whose chemical structure determines various quantities of splitting aromatic amines, such as benzidine. For tests, seven commercially available azo dyes with aromatic amines in their structure were selected. These included two hazardous dyes: Acid Red 85 and Direct Blue 6, both capable of reductively splitting carcinogenic benzidine. Of the remaining five azo dyes, three--Ponceau SS, Sudan II, and Disperse Yellow 7--are capable of splitting p-phenylenediamine and aniline, while Mordant Orange 1 and Disperse Orange 3 can split only p-phenylenediamine. For Acid Red 85 and Direct Blue 6, the quantity of benzidine split from them was analyzed, depending on the conditions of the reduction process (e.g., in the HPLC method, 104 g/kg of dye for reduction in NaOH, and 41 g/kg of dye for reduction in acetate buffer). The spectrophotometric method proved useful for preliminary analysis of amine content in examined samples. Spectrophotometric analysis may be used to determine the total content of amines counted as aniline. A full qualitative and quantitative analysis of amines released from azo dyes is possible using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Semiempirical infrared spectra simulations for some aromatic amines of interest for azo dye chemistry.

A set of semiempirical methods (PM3, AM1, MNDO, MNDO3, INDO, CNDO and ZINDO/1) has been tested to find the best tool for the identification of aromatic amines by infrared spectroscopy. Analysed were 1,4-, 1,3-, 1,2-phenylenediamines and aniline, amines commonly used in the dye industry. Of all the semiempirical methods tested, AM1 showed the closest correspondence to experimental values. It provided the best linearity between the calculated and experimental frequencies (correlation coefficient, cc = 0.9993). In the range of -NH2 stretching vibrations, the best correspondence between the theoretical and experimental frequencies was achieved for the PM3 method (cc = 0.8369).

The evaluation of structural changes in wool fibre keratin treated with azo dyes by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy.

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy spectroscopy is a useful technique for the analysis of structural changes in wool fibres at the molecular and supermolecular levels. Ecological requirements the textile industry has to meet oblige manufacturers to use ecological dyes in the process of fibre dyeing. These dyes should not split into the forbidden, carcinogenic aromatic amines (e.g. benzidine) while used. Wool was dyed with an azo dye, then underwent a chemical reaction. Changes were observed in the region of Amide A, Amide B, Amide I and II, dipolar ions amino acids, and the fingerprint region.