Abstract
A capillary-isotachophoresis system for the analyses of algal acidic polysaccharides was developed on the basis of some improvements on the conventional methods of analysis for glucosaminoglucans. Under the newly-developed conditions the zone responsible for the heparinoid active component (a rhamnan sulfate) in Monostroma nitidum was successfully separated from the zones of other acidic polysaccharides in crude polysaccharide fractions, since only one of the zones on the isotachopherogram of the crude polysaccharide fraction was detected on the isotachopherogram of the purified active rhamnan sulfate. In the analyses of the crude polysaccharide fractions from some related species, the corresponding zones with the same potential unit value as the purified active rhamnan sulfate from M. nitidum were observed only in species with considerably high activity. These results suggested that this new system, with simple, rapid and microscale procedures, is useful in examining the molecular homogenity of purified active sulfated polysaccharides, as well as in surverying the distribution of similar molecular species in related algal species.
