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Ultrasonic depolymerization of an exopolysaccharide produced by a bacterium isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent polychaete annelid.

Petit AC, Noiret N, Guezennec J, Gondrexon N, Colliec-Jouault S

Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Rennes, Synthèses et Activations de Biomolécules, CNRS UMR 6052, Institut de Chimie de Rennes, Avenue du Général Leclerc, F-35700 Rennes, France.

Low frequency ultrasound was used to depolymerize a high-molecular-weight exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by a deep-sea hydrothermal bacterium Alteromonas macleodii subsp. fijiensis biovar deepsane. The influence of several parameters was examined including the duration of ultrasonic irradiation, EPS concentration, reaction temperature and volume of the sonicated solution. With the aim of optimizing the depolymerization, the native EPS was simultaneously treated with hydrogen peroxide and ultrasound. This study identified the sonication conditions that produce low-molecular-weight derivatives from the native EPS (>10(6)Da) with good reproducibility.

Published 10 October 2006 in Ultrason Sonochem, 14(2): 107-12.
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