Abstract
Scleroglucan is a natural polysaccharide that has been proposed for various applications. However there is no investigation on its property variations when the molecular weight of this polymer is reduced. Scleroglucan was sonicated at two different polymer concentrations for different periods of time and the effect of sonication was investigated with respect to molecular weight variations and rheological properties. Molar mass, estimated by viscometric measurements, was drastically reduced already after a sonication for a few min. Sonicated samples were used for the preparation of gels in the presence of borate ions. The effect of borax on the new samples was investigated by recording the mechanical spectra and the flow curves. A comparison with the system prepared with the dialysed polymer was also carried out. The anisotropic elongation, observed with tablets of scleroglucan and borax, was remarkably reduced when the sonicated samples were used for the preparation of the gels.
Highlights
Scleroglucan (Sclg) is a homopolysaccharide, produced by fungi of the genus Sclerotium, consisting of a main chain of (1→3)-linked β-D-glucopyranosyl units bearing, every three units, a Molecules 2012, 17 single β-D-glucopyranosyl unit linked (1→6)
Sclg solutions were first prepared at two different polymer concentrations, cp = 0.1 and 0.5 (w/v), in order to test the influence of this parameter on the sonication process
Sclg samples were prepared by centrifugation, in order to separate the aggregates from the polymer solutions
Summary
Scleroglucan (Sclg) is a homopolysaccharide, produced by fungi of the genus Sclerotium, consisting of a main chain of (1→3)-linked β-D-glucopyranosyl units bearing, every three units, a Molecules 2012, 17 single β-D-glucopyranosyl unit linked (1→6). The commercial polymer is produced by various companies (e.g., Cargill, Mero-Rousselot-Satia, Degussa, CarboMer) with slightly differences in the application features. Because of its peculiar rheological properties, its resistance to hydrolysis, temperature and electrolytes, Sclg has several industrial applications, in the oil industry, for water colours, printing inks, animal feed, etc. Several Japanese patents proposed the use of Sclg for the improvement of food quality. In the last few years, several studies have been carried out for the possible use of Sclg and its derivatives as new matrices for sustained drug delivery purposes [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. Sclg shows antitumor, antiviral and antimicrobial activities as well as immune stimulatory effects [13,14,15,16]
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