Polysaccharides and related high molecular weight glycans are hugely diverse with wide application in Biotechnology and great opportunities for further exploitation. An Introduction to Polysaccharide Biotechnology – a second edition of the popular original text by Tombs and Harding – introduces students, researchers, clinicians and industrialists to the properties of some of the key materials involved, how these are applied, some of the economic factors concerning their production and how they are characterized for regulatory purposes.

Timely book gives account of the production and uses of polysaccharides. Focuses on the main developments. Also explains and illustrates how current work on polysaccharides may lead to major future developments in this field.

This volume provides a thorough account of the structure and synthesis of microbial exopolysaccharides and of their widespread application across a broad range of industries, including food, oil and medicine. The successful exploitation of these polysaccharides requires a sound scientific understanding of their chemical and physical properties and also their biochemistry and biosynthesis.

Food, Medical, and Environmental Applications of Polysaccharides provides a detailed resource for those interested in the design and preparation of polysaccharides for state-of-the-art applications. The book begins with an introductory section covering sources, chemistry, architectures, bioactivity, and chemical modifications of polysaccharides. Subsequent parts of the book are organized by field, with chapters focusing on specific applications across food, medicine, and the environment. This is an extremely valuable book for researchers, scientists, and advanced students in biopolymers, polymer science, polymer chemistry, biomaterials, materials science, biotechnology, biomedical engineering, cosmetics, medicine, food science, and environmental science. This important class of biopolymer can offer attractive properties and modification potential, enabling its use in groundbreaking areas across food, medical, and environmental fields. The book will be of interest to scientists, R&D professionals, designers, and engineers who utilize polysaccharide-based materials. - Presents comprehensive information of the polymeric structures and properties that can be developed from polysaccharides - Offers systematic coverage of classification, synthesis, and characterization, enabling targeted design and preparation of polysaccharides for specific applications - Explores advanced methods, for novel applications across food, medicine, and the environment

This book provides the whole spectrum of polysaccharides from basic concepts to commercial market applications. Chapters cover various types of sources, classification, properties, characterization, processing, rheology and fabrication of polysaccharide-based materials and their composites and gels. The applications of polysaccharides include in cosmetics, food science, drug delivery, biomedicine, biofuel production, marine, packaging, chromatography and environmental remediation. It also reviews the fabrication of inorganic and carbon nanomaterials from polysaccharides. The book incorporates industrial applications and will fill the gap between the exploration works in the laboratory and viable applications in related ventures.

This book details polysaccharides and other important biomacromolecules covering their source, production, structures, properties, and current and potential application in the fields of biotechnology and medicine. It includes a systematic discussion on the general strategies of isolation, separation and characterization of polysaccharides and proteins. Subsequent chapters are devoted to polysaccharides obtained from various sources, including botanical, algal, animal and microbial. In the area of botanical polysaccharides, separate chapters are devoted to the sources, structure, properties and medical applications of cellulose and its derivatives, starch and its derivatives, pectins, and exudate gums, notably gum arabic. Another chapter discusses the potential of hemicelluloses (xylans and xylan derivatives) as a new source of functional biopolymers for biomedical and industrial applications. The algal polysaccharide, alginate, has significant application in food, pharmaceuticals and the medical field, all of which are reviewed in a separate chapter. Polysaccharides of animal origin are included with separate chapters on the sources, production, biocompatibility, biodegradability and biomedical applications of chitin (chitosan) and hyaluronan. With the increasing knowledge and applications of genetic engineering there is also an introduction in the book to nucleic acid polymers, the genome research and genetic engineering. Proteins and protein conjugates are covered, with one chapter providing a general review of structural glycoproteins, fibronectin and laminin, together with their role in the promotion of cell adhesion in vascular grafts, implants and tissue engineering. Another chapter discusses general aspects of a number of industrial proteins, including casein, caseinates, whey protein, gluten and soy proteins, with emphasis on their medical applications, and with reference to the potential of bacterial proteins. Another natural polymer resource, microbial polyesters, although small compared with polysaccharides and proteins, is also gaining increasing interest in biomedical technology and other industrial sectors. One chapter, therefore, is devoted to microbial polyesters, with comprehensive coverage of their biosynthesis, properties, enzymic degradation and applications. By dealing with biopolymers at the molecular level, the book is aimed at the biomedical and wider materials science communities and provides an advanced overview of biopolymers at the graduate and postgraduate level. In addition it will appeal to both academic and industrial life scientists who are involved in research and development activities in the medical and biotechnology field.

Aerogels have been in use for over 80 years and have been utilised in a wide variety of applications, in particular, there has been growing use of insulating nanoporous materials in the aerospace industry. Recent awareness of the environmental implications of materials has driven researchers to develop new green materials, with aerogels being developed using biobased constituents, such as polysaccharides and proteins. Recently, biobased components, such as cellulose nanocrystals, have replaced synthetic counterparts in the production of nanoporous materials. Biobased Aerogels is the first book to cover aerogel research from a green perspective, using commentary and analysis from leading researchers working in the field. Aerogels based on polysaccharides and proteins, their preparation and characterisation will be covered in detail, with further discussion highlighting properties such as surface morphology, shape recovery, mechanical properties and adsorption capacity. This insightful and timely publication will provide essential reading for those researchers and industrialists working within the green chemistry field.