sodium-chlorate and Cystic-Fibrosis

Light scattering and viscosity measurements were carried out on the previously chemically characterised exopolysaccharide produced by a strain of Burkholderia cepacia isolated from a cystic fibrosis patient. The same exopolysaccharide was also produced by other clinical strains in different laboratories. Therefore, the name Cepacian is now proposed for this exopolysaccharide. Experiments performed as a function of the ionic strength on the native polymer revealed a change in the overall shape of the polymer at low ionic strength. This behaviour was absent in the de-acetylated sample. Potentiometric titrations and light scattering experiments carried out on the acidic form of the native polymer revealed the formation of macromolecular aggregates with a stoichiometry n and 2n stabilised by interactions involving the uronic acid residues.

Topics: Acetates; Burkholderia cepacia; Carbohydrate Conformation; Chlorates; Circular Dichroism; Cystic Fibrosis; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Molecular Weight; Polysaccharides, Bacterial; Scattering, Radiation; Sodium Hydroxide; Temperature; Titrimetry; Viscosity