Preparation of cellooligosaccharides: comparative study.

摘要

Cellooligosaccharides have a specific degree of polymerization and are commonly used in mechanistic studies of cellulolytic enzymes. Since they are not hydrolysed or absorbed by the human gastrointestinal tract (non-digestible oligosaccharides) they may have potential uses as non-caloric bulking agents in foods. Considering the heavy demand for cellooligosaccharides in many cellulase/cellulose laboratories, many methods have been developed for the separation of cellooligosaccharides. They are typically produced by the controlled hydrolysis of cellulose, which produces a mixture of cellooligosaccharides differing with respect to their degree of polymerization, followed by chromatographic fractionation to obtain preparations homogeneous with respect to degree of polymerization. This study summarizes a comparative study of suggested fractionation methods. Charcoal-celite adsorption, molecular exclusion and ion-mediated silica and cellulose affinity/partition chromatography were evaluated. Adsorption chromatography with charcoal-celite stationary phases was the most generally applicable method for the preparation of near gram quantities of pure cellooligosaccharides in the DP range of 3 to 7. Cellulose affinity/partition chromatography was the least time consuming and most economical method for the preparation of cellotetraose and cellopentaose. Ion-mediated chromatography was the most readily applicable for analytical applications.