Low Molar Mass Dextran: One-Step Synthesis With Dextransucrase by Site-Directed Mutagenesis and its Potential of Iron-Loading

Iron dextran is a common anti-anemia drug, and it requires low molar mass dextran as substrate. In this work, we selected 11 amino acid residues in domain A/B of DSR-M Delta 2 within a 5-angstrom distance from sucrose for site-directed mutagenesis by molecular docking. Mutation of Q634 did not affect the enzyme catalytic activity, but showed an obvious impact on the ratio of low molecular weight dextran (L-dextran, 3,000-5,000 Da) and relatively higher molecular weight dextran (H-dextran, around 10,000 Da). L-dextran was the main product synthesized by DSR-M Delta 2 Q634A, and its average molecular weight was 3,951 Da with a polydispersity index < 1.3. The structural characterization of this homopolysaccharide revealed that it was a dextran, with 86.0% alpha(1 -> 6) and 14.0% alpha(1 -> 4) glycosidic linkages. Moreover, L-dextran was oxidized with NaOH and chelated with ferric trichloride, and an OL-dextran-iron complex was synthesized with a high iron-loading potential of 33.5% (w/w). Altogether, mutation of amino acids near the sucrose binding site of dextransucrase can affect the chain elongation process, making it possible to modulate dextran size.

Automated summary

Mutation of amino acids near the sucrose binding site of dextransucrase can affect the chain elongation process, making it possible to modulate dextran size.