.beta.-(1 .fwdarw. 3)-GLUCANS HAVING DIALDEHYDE, DI- OR TRIHYDROXY METHYL, ERYTHRITOL OR GLYCEROL TERMINAL MOIETIES ARE USEFUL IN INHIBITING TUMORS OF SARCOMA IN MICE. The glucans may be prepared from .beta.-(1 .fwdarw. 3)-glucans having side chains attached by (1 .fwdarw. 6), (1 .fwdarw. 4) or (1 .fwdarw. 2)-linkages by sequential oxidation, reduction and hydrolysis of the side chains.

Sarcoma 180 in mice is strongly inhibited in its growth by injection of water-soluble hydroxy or mercapto alkyl glucans whose glucan moiety essentially consists of glucose units connected by .beta.-(1.fwdarw.3) bonds, and which contains 0.08 to 1.0 hydroxy or mercapto alkyl moieties per glucose unit, the alkyl group having 2 to 4 carbon atoms.

Mannoglucan derivatives wherein from about 2 to 51 per 100 of side chain .alpha.-D-mannopyranosyl residues of mannoglucan have been cleaved and reduced to polyhydroxy residues possess antitumor activity with reduced pyrogenecity.

This invention involves a type of oligosacoharides and its their sulfate derivatives. The backbone of the oligosaccharides consists of 4 to 14 glucose residues, while the side chains contain 0 to 4 glucose residues. There are at least one 1->3.alpha. linkage and .beta.-(1->3)-Iinkage or .beta.-(1->4) linkage in the backbone. These oligosaccharides, and their sulfates have immune enhancing, antitumor, and antiviral activities. They can be used in immune enhancing, antitumor, and antivira...

The present invention describes a protein having glucosyltransferase activity. This protein is derived from lactobacilli, which are food-grade microorganisms with the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) status. The protein produces a glucan with a unique structure having 4-linked, 6-lined and 4,6-linked anhydroglucose units or in the presence of suitable acceptors, oligosaccharides. According to the invention lactobacilli capable of producing this glucan using the novel glucosyltransferase can b...

Disclosed are gene carriers utilizing .beta.-1,3-glucan and methods of preparing the same. The .beta.-1,3-glucan has at least one 1,6-glucopyranoside branch and is chemically modified through periodate oxidation and reductive amination so as to impart nucleic acid-binding functional groups (for example, cationic functional groups) to at least some of the 1,6-glucopyranoside branches thereof. Triple helix .beta.-1,3-glucan is dissolved in a polar organic solvent to form single-stranded .beta.-1,3...

Hydrogenated pullulan is produced by the reaction of an aqueous solution of pullulan with hydrogen gas under pressure in the presence of suitable catalysts until the reducing property of the solution disappears. The hydrogenated pullulan is much more resistant to heat than pullulan and its aqueous solution hardly loses viscosity and is not colored under heat treatment. The hydrogenated pullulan is much less absorbable by the intestinal walls than pullulan so as to reduce more effectively the cal...

This invention pertains to novel fibers made of .alpha.(1.fwdarw.;3) polysaccharides, and a process for their production. The fibers of the invention have "cotton-like" properties but can be produced as continuous filaments on a year-round basis. The fibers are useful in textile applications.

The present invention relates to a method for the production of small spherical particles consisting totally or partly of at least one water-insoluble linear polysaccharide by dissolving the at least one water-insoluble polysaccharide in a solvent or a solvent mixture, introducing the solution into a precipitating agent or a precipitating agent mixture, optionally cooling the mixture thus obtained and separating the formed small particles, wherein at least one poly alpha D-glucan soluble in hot ...

The object of the present invention is to provide a novel glycosyl derivative of cyclotetrasaccharide represented by cyclo{.fwdarw.6)-.alpha.-D-glucopyranosyl-(1.fwdarw.3)-.alpha.-D-glucopyr- anosyl-(1.fwdarw.6)-.alpha.-D-glucopyranosyl-(1.fwdarw.3)-.alpha.-D-glucop- yranosyl-(1.fwdarw.}, and it is solved by providing a branched cyclotetrasaccharide, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms in the hydroxyl groups of cyclotetrasaccharide are replaced with an optionally substituted glycosyl group, with ...