African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 2 (12), pp. 636-644, December 2003

ISSN 1684-5315  © 2003 Academic Journals

Review

Profiling of carbohydrate polymers in biotechnology using microdialysis sampling, high performance anion exchange chromatography with integrated pulsed electrochemical detection/mass spectrometry

Harriet Okatch* and Nelson Torto

Chemistry Department, University of Botswana, Private Bag UB 00704, Gaborone, Botswana.

*Corresponding author. Phone: 00267 72254436. Fax: 00267 3552836. E-mail: okatcharriet@hotmail.com.

Accepted 26 November 2003

The analysis of carbohydrate polymers is very demanding and challenging because of the similar physical and chemical properties they possess. Enzymatic hydrolysis is employed to cleave the polymers. The use of enzymes in analytical chemistry requires an analytical system that has on-line capability, is fast, reproducible, robust, and offers sensitive detection. More importantly the system employed should offer in-situ sampling and sample clean-up so as to reduce the sample handling steps and the analysis time.  One such system consists of microdialysis sampling, high performance anion exchange chromatography with integrated pulsed electrochemical detection/mass spectrometry. The on-line system offers sampling, sample clean-up, separation and detection of saccharides as a way of profiling carbohydrate polymers. The wealth of information attained include carbohydrate polymer sequencing, glycosidic linkages, anomericity and result in the unequivocal characterisation of the polymers. This review focuses on the applications of a total on-line system for the profiling of carbohydrate hydrolysates. The above-mentioned analytical system has been employed to carbohydrate polymers and hydrolysates from starch, lignocellulosic material and legumes.

Key words: Profiling, carbohydrates, sampling, separation, detection, microdialysis, enzymes.