Glucan composition and process for preparation thereof
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsSpiros Jamas, ChoKyun Rha, Anthony J. Sinskey
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Abstract
Three dimensional glucan matrix compositions are prepared by separating growing yeast from its growth medium, subjecting the yeast with cell walls intact to an alkali material, thereby extracting whole glucan particles having an intact cell wall structure. The whole glucans can then, optionally, be treated with acetic acid to alter the .beta.(1-6) linkages, or with glucanase to alter the .beta.(1-3) linkages. The glucans have viscosity characteristics dependent upon the strain of yeast utilized and are useful as stabilizers or thickeners.
Claims19
Whole glucan particles isolated from glucan-containing cell walls, the isolated glucan particles substantially retaining the in vivo glucan morphology, said whole glucan particles having .beta.(1-3) linkages sufficiently altered to provide a significant difference in the hydrodynamic volume of said altered whole glucan particles compared to the hydrodynamic volume of non-altered whole glucan particles.
A process for preparing whole glucan particles having altered .beta.(1-3) linkages and having substantially the in vivo morphology of glucans, comprising:
- a) extracting non-glucan components from glucan-containing cell walls without a prior step of disrupting the cell walls to thereby produce whole glucan particles substantially retaining the in vivo glucan morphology;
- and
- b) treating said whole glucan particles obtained in step (a) under conditions appropriate to substantially alter .beta.(1-3) linkages in said whole glucan particles to provide a significant difference in the hydrodynamic volume of the altered whole glucan particles compared to the hydrodynamic volume of the non-altered isolated whole glucan particles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.