scholarly journals The cell wall of Bacillus licheniformis N.C.T.C. 6346. Isolation of low-molecular-weight fragments from the soluble mucopeptide

1968 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Hughes

1. Soluble mucopeptide was prepared by lysozyme treatment of acid-extracted walls of Bacillus licheniformis N.C.T.C. 6346 and separated into fractions differing in molecular size by chromatography on Sephadex G-25 and G-50. 2. About 16% of the weight of soluble mucopeptide has a weight-average molecular weight in excess of 20000. About one half has a weight-average molecular weight of less than 2000 and the balance of soluble mucopeptide is of intermediate size. 3. In the mucopeptide fractions isolated from Sephadex there is a correlation between the weight-average molecular weight, the number of non-reducing muramic acid residues and the proportion of diaminopimelic acid residues recovered after treatment with 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene. 4. The extent of cross-linking between peptide side chains is relatively low, even in mucopeptide material of the large molecular size. 5. The small amount of residual phosphorus present in preparations of B. licheniformis soluble mucopeptide remains associated mainly with mucopeptide material of large molecular size. 6. The mucopeptide components of lowest molecular weight are not produced as artifacts during the preparation of soluble mucopeptide, but are apparently incorporated in the insoluble mucopeptide present in walls of exponentially growing cells. 7. Soluble mucopeptide isolated in a complex with acidic polymers after lysozyme treatment of walls of B. licheniformis N.C.T.C. 6346 and Bacillus subtilis W23 retains a high molecular weight when the covalent bonds between mucopeptide and the acidic polymers are broken. 8. Pure fragments were isolated from B. licheniformis soluble mucopeptide. A major component, C1, of the material of smallest size is made up of one residue each of N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylmuramic acid, l-alanine, glutamic acid and diaminopimelic acid. The N-acetylglucosamine is in β-glycosidic linkage with a reducing N-acetylmuramic acid residue. The peptide unit is probably amidated. A quantitatively minor component, C2, has amino acid and amino sugar composition identical with that of component C1, but probably lacks an amide group. Another fragment, B1, is made up of two molecules of component C1 or C2 that are joined together through a molecule of d-alanine.

1995 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hynek Balcar ◽  
Jan Sedláček ◽  
Marta Pacovská ◽  
Vratislav Blechta

Catalytic activity of the tungsten aryloxo complexes WCl5(OAr) and WOCl3(OAr), where Ar = 4-t-C4H9C6H4, 2,6-(t-C4H9)2C6H3, 2,6-Cl2C6H3, 2,4,6-Cl3C6H2, and 2,4,6-Br3C6H2 in polymerization of phenylacetylene (20 °C, monomer to catalyst molar ratio = 1 000) was studied. The activity of WCl5(OAr) as unicomponent catalysts increases with increasing electron withdrawing character of the -OAr ligand. Addition of two equivalents of organotin cocatalysts (Me4Sn, Bu4Sn, Ph4Sn, Bu3SnH) to WCl5(O-C6H2Cl3-2,4 ,6) has only slight positive effect (slightly higher polymer yield and/or molecular weight of poly(phenylacetylene)s was achieved). However, in the case of WOCl3(O-C6H3Cl2-2, 6) catalyst, it enhances the activity considerably by eliminating the induction period. Poly(phenylacetylene)s prepared with the catalysts studied have weight-average molecular weight ranging from 100 000 to 200 000. They are trans-prevailing and have relatively low molar fraction of monomer units comprised in cyclohexadiene sequences (about 6%).


BioResources ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 4137-4151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aikfei Ang ◽  
Zaidon Ashaari ◽  
Edi Suhaimi Bakar ◽  
Nor Azowa Ibrahim

An alkali lignin (OL) with a weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of 11646 g/mol was used to prepare low-molecular weight lignin for resin synthesis. The low-molecular weight lignin feedstock was obtained via base-catalysed depolymerisation (BCD) treatments at different combined severity factors. Sequential fractionation of the OL and BCD-treated lignins using organic solvents with different Hildebrand solubility parameters were used to alter the homogeneity of the OL. The yield and properties of OL itself and OL and BCD-treated OL dissolved in propan-1-ol (F1), ethanol (F2), and methanol (F3) were determined. Regardless of the treatment applied, a small amount of OL was dissolved in F1 and F2. The BCD treatment did not increase the yield of F1 but did increase the yields of F2 and F3. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) showed that the repolymerization reaction occurred in F3 for all BCD-treated OL, so these lignins were not suitable for use as feedstocks for resin production. The GPC, 13Carbon-nuclear magnetic resonance, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses confirmed that the F3 in OL exhibited the optimum yield, molecular weight distribution, and chemical structure suitable for use as feedstocks for resin synthesis.


In the present study, the influence of dextransucrase of Weissella cibaria NITCSK4 (DSWc4), sucrose concentration, and reaction temperature on the yield of low molecular weight dextran (LMWD-DexWc4) was investigated using mixed level Taguchi design and back propagation neural network (BPNN). BPNN model with three neurons in a hidden layer generated a low mean squared error (MSE). The determination coefficients (R2 -value) for ANN and Taguchi models were 0.991 and 0.998, respectively. Considering absolute average deviation (AAD) and MSE, Taguchi model is more adequate. Among three factors, the percentage yield of low molecular weight of dextran is invariably dependent on the sucrose concentration. The study suggested that a low sucrose concentration (3% w/v), DSWc4 (0.25 IU/ml) and slightly high temperature (35°C) ultimately favored the production of LMWD-DexWc4 (91.639%). LMW-DexWc4 produced by DSWc4 at optimized conditions was analyzed. The weight average molecular weight of LMW-DexWc4 was calculated using M-H expression, found to be 85775 (≈90 kDa). The relative percentage error between the number and weight average molecular weight was found to be less (4.42%). The polydispersity (PD) index of the LMW-DexWc4 was found to be 0.9576 and the value is close to 1. The PD value depicted that the molecular weight distribution of dextran was narrowly dispersed.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 13805-13838 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. Latif ◽  
P. Brimblecombe

Abstract. Surfactants in atmospheric aerosols determined as methylene blue active substances (MBAS) and ethyl violet active substances (EVAS). The MBAS and EVAS concentrations can be correlated with surface tension as determined by pendant drop analysis. The effect of surface tension was more clearly indicated in fine mode aerosol extracts. The concentration of MBAS and EVAS was determined before and after ultrafiltration analysis using AMICON centrifuge tubes that define a 5000 Da (5 K Da) nominal molecular weight fraction. Overall, MBAS and to a greater extent EVAS predominates in fraction with molecular weight below 5 K Da. In case of aerosols collected in Malaysia the higher molecular fractions tended to be a more predominant. The MBAS and EVAS are correlated with yellow to brown colours in aerosol extracts. Further experiments showed possible sources of surfactants (e.g. petrol soot, diesel soot) in atmospheric aerosols to yield material having molecular size below 5 K Da except for humic acid. The concentration of surfactants from these sources increased after ozone exposure and for humic acids it also general included smaller molecular weight surfactants.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1230
Author(s):  
Jie Li ◽  
Jinhua Du

This research was to explore the distribution and some molecular characterization of arabinoxylan in wheat beer (B), beer foam (BF) and defoamed beer (DB) because of the crucial influences of arabinoxylan on wheat beer and its foam. The purified arabinoxylan from B, BF, and DB were fractionated by ethanol of 50%, 67%, 75%, and 80%. The monosaccharide composition, substitution degree (Ara/Xyl ratio, A/X), and average degrees of polymerization (avDP) of arabinoxylan were investigated. Molecular weight and microstructure were also involved in this study by GPC-LLS and SEM, respectively. Under the same ethanol concentration, the arabinoxylan content in the BF was higher than the other two, respectively, and it was precipitated in BF fraction with 50% ethanol which accounted for 80.84% of the total polysaccharides. Meanwhile, the greatest substitution degree (A/X) and highest value of avDP of the arabinoxylan was found in all beer foam fractions regardless of the concentration of ethanol used. The average degrees of polymerization (avDP) of arabinoxylan displayed a significant difference (p < 0.05) among B, BF, and DB. Furthermore, arabinoxylan presented varied microstructure with irregular lamellas and spherical structures and the weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of arabinoxylan showed the lowest values in BF, while the largest values were shown in DB. Therefore, arabinoxylan was more accumulated in beer foam, especially in 50% ethanol, characterised by greater value of A/X and avDP, as well as lower Mw. It was suggested that the arabinoxylan played important roles in maintaining wheat beer foam characteristics.


1932 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-140
Author(s):  
H. Staudinger ◽  
W. Feisst

Abstract The molecular concept in organic chemistry is based upon the fact that the molecules, whose existence is proved by vapor density determinations, enter into chemical reactions as the smallest particles. If now it is assumed that organic molecular colloids like rubber are dissolved in dilute solution in molecular form then it must be proved that in the chemical transposition of macromolecules as well no change in the size of the macromolecules occurs. In the case of hemicolloids, therefore for molecular colloids with an average molecular weight of 1000 to 10,000, this has been proved by the reduction of polyindenes, especially of polysterenes, to hydroproducts with the same average molecular weight, and also by the fact that cyclorubbers do not change their molecular weight upon autoöxidation. The molecular weights of hemi-colloidal hydrocarbons are therefore invariable. This is much more difficult to prove in the case of rubber, although there are many more ways in which unsaturated rubber can be transposed than the stable polysterenes, polyindenes, and poly cyclorubbers. In most of the reactions with rubber, as in its action with nitrosobenzene, oxidizing agents, hydrogen halides, and halogens, an extensive decomposition takes place as a result of the instability of the molecule, which is referred to in another work. Therefore derivatives of rubber are not formed, but derivatives of hemi-colloidal decomposition products. The catalytic reduction of rubber in the cold appears to be the most suitable process of making it react without changing its molecular size in order to prove that in a chemical transposition its molecular weight remains the same.


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