Simple and rapid quality control of sulfated glycans by a fluorescence sensor assay--exemplarily developed for the sulfated polysaccharides from red algae Delesseria sanguinea.

Susanne Lühn,Juliane Grimm,Susanne Alban

doi:10.3390/md12042205

Abstract

Sulfated polysaccharides (SP) from algae are of great interest due to their manifold biological activities. Obstacles to commercial (especially medical) application include considerable variability and complex chemical composition making the analysis and the quality control challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate a simple microplate assay for screening the quality of SP. It is based on the fluorescence intensity (FI) increase of the sensor molecule Polymer-H by SP and was originally developed for direct quantification of SP. Exemplarily, 65 SP batches isolated from the red alga Delesseria sanguinea (D.s.-SP) and several other algae polysaccharides were investigated. Their FI increase in the Polymer-H assay was compared with other analytical parameters. By testing just one concentration of a D.s.-SP sample, quality deviations from the reference D.s.-SP and thus both batch-to-batch variability and stability can be detected. Further, structurally distinct SP showed to differ in their concentration-dependent FI profiles. By using corresponding reference compounds, the Polymer-H assay is therefore applicable as identification assay with high negative predictability. In conclusion, the Polymer-H assay showed to represent not only a simple method for quantification, but also for characterization identification and differentiation of SP of marine origin.

Highlights

Sulfated polysaccharides (SP) represent an important class of biopolymers
Polymer-H Assay for Detection and Quantification of D.s.-SP
The Polymer-H assay was originally developed for quantification of heparins with relatively high sulfate contents and degrees of sulfation, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Sulfated polysaccharides (SP) represent an important class of biopolymers. In vertebrates, sulfated glycosaminoglycans occur as components of the extracellular matrix and the glycocalyx and exhibit multiple (patho-)physiological functions [1,2,3,4]. Intense heparin research and the increasing functional understanding of glycosaminoglycan-protein interactions have stimulated the development of heparin/heparin sulfate-based or glycosaminoglycan mimetics for use as anti-angiogenic, anti-metastatic, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, and anti-thrombotic agents [5] Another even larger source of SP are marine algae and marine invertebrates. Carrageenans and agarans, two types of sulfated galactans extracted from red algae species, are important hydrocolloids widely used as texturing agents and stabilizers in food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and for some other applications [11,12] Besides such industrial-scale applications, marine SP, such as fucoidans, exhibit a wide range of biological activities so that they are considered to be promising candidates for numerous therapeutic applications [13,14]

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