Characterisation of mass distributions of solvent-fractionated lignins using analytical ultracentrifugation and size exclusion chromatography methods.

Lignins are valuable renewable resources for the potential production of a large array of biofuels, aromatic chemicals and biopolymers. Yet native and industrial lignins are complex, highly branched and heterogenous macromolecules, properties that have to date often undermined their use as starting materials in lignin valorisation strategies. Reliable knowledge of weight average molar mass, conformation and polydispersity of lignin starting materials can be proven to be crucial to and improve the prospects for the success of such strategies. Here we evaluated the use of commonly-used size exclusion chromatography (SEC)-calibrated with polystyrene sulphonate standards-and under-used analytical ultracentrifugation-which does not require calibration-to characterise a series of lignin fractions sequentially extracted from soda and Kraft alkaline lignins using ethyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), methanol and acetone:water (fractions F01-F04, respectively). Absolute values of weight average molar mass (Mw) determined using sedimentation equilibrium in the analytical ultracentrifuge of (3.0 ± 0.1) kDa and (4.2 ± 0.2) kDa for soda and Kraft lignins respectively, agreed closely with previous SEC-determined Mws and reasonably with the size exclusion chromatography measurements employed here, confirming the appropriateness of the standards (with the possible exceptions of fraction F05 for soda P1000 and F03 for Indulin). Both methods revealed the presence of low (~ 1 kDa) Mw material in F01 and F02 fractions followed by progressively higher Mw in subsequent fractions. Compositional analysis confirmed > 90% (by weight) total lignins successively extracted from both lignins using MEK, methanol and acetone:water (F02 to F04). Considerable heterogeneity of both unfractionated and fractionated lignins was revealed through determinations of both sedimentation coefficient distributions and polydispersity indices. The study also demonstrates the advantages of using analytical ultracentrifugation, both alongside SEC as well as in its own right, for determining absolute Mw, heterogeneity and conformation information for characterising industrial lignins.

Lysozyme uptake by oxidized starch polymer microgels.

With the aim of determining suitable conditions for uptake and release of globular proteins on microgels, we studied the interaction between phosphated, highly cross-linked, negatively charged oxidized potato starch polymer (OPSP) microgel particles and lysozyme from hen eggs. Our microgel shows a typical protein-induced deswelling behavior for charged microgels. The protein distributes rather homogenously through the microgel. We found that at low salt concentration the saturation protein uptake Gammasat increases with increasing pH. This is because the binding capacity is mainly determined by charge compensation: with increasing pH, the (positive) charge on the lysozyme molecules decreases, while the (negative) charge of the microgel particles increases. Therefore, more protein molecules are needed to compensate for the charge on the gel and the binding capacity increases. The protein binding affinity, however, decreases sharply with increasing pH, presumably because this affinity is mainly sensitive to the lysozyme charge density. At high pH the binding affinity is relatively low, and by adding salt, the protein can easily be released from the gel. This leads to a maximum in the curves of Gammasat versus pH, and this maximum shifts to lower pH values with increasing ionic strength. We conclude that, for protein uptake and release applications, the present system works best around pH 5 due to a sufficiently high binding affinity and a sufficiently high binding capacity.

In-depth characterization of prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides by a combination of analytical techniques.

A commercial prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharide mixture (Vivinal GOS) was extensively characterized using a combination of analytical techniques. The different techniques were integrated to give complementary information on specific characteristics of the oligosaccharide mixture, ranging from global information on degree of polymerization (DP) to the identity and concentration of individual oligosaccharides. The coupling of high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) to mass spectrometry (MS) was determined to be especially suitable to assign the DP of individual oligosaccharides on the basis of their m/z values as well as their quantification using external standards. The combination of NMR spectroscopy and methylation analysis after isolation using size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) was used for identification. All DP2 compounds could be identified and quantified in this way as well as the main DP3 compounds.

Preparation and characterization of oxidized starch polymer microgels for encapsulation and controlled release of functional ingredients.

A novel biocompatible and biodegradable microgel system has been developed for controlled uptake and release of especially proteins. It contains TEMPO-oxidized potato starch polymers, which are chemically cross-linked by sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP). Physical chemical properties have been determined for microgels of different weight ratios of cross-linker to polymer (0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.30, and 0.40) and degrees of oxidation (30, 50, 70, and 100%). The charge density of the microgels as determined by proton titration is found to be in good agreement with the expected degree of oxidation (DO). The electrophoretic mobility of the microgel particles is used as a qualitative indicator of the pore size and scales with microgel swelling capacity as expected. The swelling capacity increases with increasing pH and decreasing salt concentration. Preliminary data for the uptake of the globular protein lysozyme by the microgels show it increases with increasing DO and decreasing cross-linker to polymer ratio. Highly charged microgels with intermediate cross-linker to polymer ratios (0.15 and 0.2) are found to be optimal for encapsulating lysozyme.

Electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometric analysis of hexamethylenediamine-modified maltodextrin and dextran.

A combined methodology for obtaining at the preparative scale and characterization by nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem MS (MS/MS) of linear polysaccharides modified at the reducing end is presented. Two polydisperse maltodextrins (1000 and 3000 Da) and a high molecular weight polydisperse dextran (6000 Da) were coupled with hexamethylenediamine (HMD). The coupling products were analyzed by nanoESI-QTOF-MS in the positive ion mode and MS/MS using collision-induced dissociation (CID) at low energies. In the HMD-M1000 mixture, the polysaccharide chains containing from 2 to 8 Glc residues were detected, while in HMD-M3000 we identified a complete series of chains containing from 8 to 21 Glc moieties. The employed ESI conditions enhanced the detection of chains with up to 46 Glc residues in the HMD-D6000 sample. By optimized MS/MS, HMD-modified polysaccharides of 3, 4, 5, 12 and 46 degrees of polymerization yielded product ion spectra exhibiting the whole set of Y- and B-fragment ions. The MS structural data were obtained within a few minutes of signal acquisition, with a sample consumption situating the analysis sensitivity in the picomolar range.