ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Extracellular biopolymers produced by freshwater cyanobacteria: a screening study

Iveta Uhliariková, Beata Chválová, Mária Matulová, Vladislav Cepák, Jaromír Lukavský, and Peter Capek

Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia

E-mail: chemcape@savba.sk

Abstract: Cyanobacteria are a rich source of metabolites of a great biotechnological and industrial importance. In this screening study the exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by 25 cyanobacterial strains were characterized by yields, chemical composition (protein, carbohydrate, and uronic acid contents, monosaccharide composition, and polymer type) and proton NMR. Most of them were identified as glycoconjugates, i.e. glycoproteins or proteoglycans, in which heteropolysaccharides were composed of seven-to-ten monosaccharide units. At studied cyanobacterial species a significant variation of EPS yields (24–8085 mg/L), carbohydrate (9–67%) and protein (0–37.8%) contents was observed.

Keywords: Cyanobacteria ; Exopolymers ; Glycoconjugates ; Composition ; ¹H NMR 

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-018-0625-1

Chemical Papers 73 (3) 771–776 (2019)