Enzymatic control and evaluation of degrees of polymerization of β-(1 → 2)-glucans

beta-(1 -> 2)-Glucans can be synthesized by 1,2-beta-oligoglucan phosphorylase using beta-(1 -> 2)-glucooligosaccharides as acceptors and mo-glucose 1-phosphate as a donor. Using phosphorolysis of sucrose as a source of mo-glucose 1-phosphate, we generated beta-(1 -> 2)-glucans with degrees of polymerization (DPs) up to approximately 280. Average DPs up to approximately 1000 were obtained using beta-(1 -> 2)-glucan with average DP of 160 as an acceptor and pure alpha-D-glucose 1-phosphate as a donor. A colorimetric assay of the beta-glucosidase activity against the beta-(1 -> 2)-glucan products was used to determine their DPs.

Automated summary

Beta-(1 -> 2)-glucans were synthesized using different methods to achieve varying degrees of polymerization, with beta-(1 -> 2)-glucans up to approximately 280 obtained using sucrose phosphorolysis as a source of mo-glucose 1-phosphate. A colorimetric assay of beta-glucosidase activity was used to determine the degrees of polymerization of the beta-(1 -> 2)-glucan products.