Convenient Agarose Preparation with Hydrogen Peroxide and Desulfation Process Analysis

Agarose is a natural seaweed polysaccharide and widely used in the medicine, food, and biological fields because of its high gel strength, non-toxicity, and electrical neutrality. The sulfate group is one of the main charged groups that affect the performance of agarose. In the present study, a simp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine drugs 2021-05, Vol.19 (6), p.297
Main Authors: Zhang, Cong, An, Ding, Xiao, Qiong, Chen, Fu-Quan, Zhang, Yong-Hui, Weng, Hui-Fen, Xiao, An-Feng
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agar
Agarose
Algae
Analytical methods
D-Galactose
Decomposition
desulfation analysis
DNA
Electrophoresis
Enzymes
Ethanol
Free radicals
Galactose
Gel electrophoresis
Gels
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydroxyl radicals
Medical sciences
Melt temperature
Metals
Methods
Polyethylene glycol
Polysaccharides
Reagents
Seaweeds
Sulfates
Sulfur
Sulphur
Toxicity
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Summary:Agarose is a natural seaweed polysaccharide and widely used in the medicine, food, and biological fields because of its high gel strength, non-toxicity, and electrical neutrality. The sulfate group is one of the main charged groups that affect the performance of agarose. In the present study, a simple, eco-friendly, and efficient method was explored for agarose preparation. After desulfation with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the sulfate content of agar reached 0.21%. Together with gel strength, electroendosmosis, gelling and melting temperature, the indicators of desulfated agar met the standards of commercially available agarose. Notably, the desulfated agar can be used as an agarose gel electrophoresis medium to separate DNA molecules, and the separation effect is as good as that of commercially available agarose. Further, the H2O2 desulfation process was analyzed. The addition of a hydroxyl radical (HO•) scavenger remarkably decreased the H2O2 desulfation rate, indicating that HO• has a certain role in agar desulfation. Sulfate content detection indicated that sulfur was removed from agar molecules in the form of sulfate ions (SO42−) and metal sulfate. The band absence at 850 cm−1 indicated that the sulfate groups at C-4 of D-galactose in sulfated galactan were eliminated.
ISSN:1660-3397
1660-3397
DOI:10.3390/md19060297