Abstract
For complex carbohydrates, such as glycogen and starch, various analytical methods and techniques exist allowing the detailed characterization of these storage carbohydrates. In this article, we give a brief overview of the most frequently used methods, techniques, and results. Furthermore, we give insights in the isolation, purification, and fragmentation of both starch and glycogen. An overview of the different structural levels of the glucans is given and the corresponding analytical techniques are discussed. Moreover, future perspectives of the analytical needs and the challenges of the currently developing scientific questions are included.
Highlights
Today, several techniques for the analysis of complex carbohydrates exist, though a single all-embracing method is lacking
Starch, which is composed of two glucose polymers, amylopectin and amylose, and glycogen serve as important reserve polysaccharides for the storage of carbon and energy in many species among Eukaryota, Bacteria, and Archaea [1,2]
Starch consists of branched water insoluble semi-crystalline amylopectin, and the nearly linear amylose is probably interspersed within the amorphous regions of amylopectin [8,9,10]
Summary
Several techniques for the analysis of complex carbohydrates exist, though a single all-embracing method is lacking. All methods provide information about glycan samples, but along with this knowledge, there is a partial loss of specific information. Very large and complex glycans can be analyzed only following partial fragmentation. A combination of several methods is required for extensive characterization of glycans. In this article, several competing techniques are presented, essentially restricted to the analytics of the complex storage glucans, starch, and glycogen. As starch and glycogen have very similar chemical properties but strongly different physical characteristics, this article starts with a focus on the required differences in the analytical workflow for both glucans. Many different conventional and modern analytical techniques exist, and we constrain our discussion to the most widespread state-of-the-art methods and techniques
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