Characterization of certain biopolymers produced by fermentation process and evaluation of their pharmaceutical applications

Abstract

Glucans have remarkable potential for use in various diseases, due to its very lowand#8208;toand#8208;negligible toxicity. Over the last decade or so, modern medical research has reached a phase where the basic mechanism of glucan effects are known and the relationship between structure and activity has been outlined rather clearly. It is rather imminent that glucans will finally take the position they deserve in diagnostic and preventive medicine. Glucans ability to activate the host immune system could be attributed to their distribution within microorganisms in which they act as membrane components in addition to the property of not being biosynthesised in mammals. The purified fungal glucans are administered orally for treatment of diseases with minimum side effects. Though glucans are found in all fungi, exocellular glucans are prefered because of this simple downstream processing that could be extrapolated to their industrial production and use. Glucan based polymers could see significant development in the coming years. The promising developments may be possible in the pharmaceutical sector as these polymers have been used for antitumorogenic, immunopotentiator, antiviral, hypercholesterolemia and as agents for stabilisation of glycemic index. The purified fungal glucans have been administered orally for treatment of human diseases with no major adverse effects. The orally administered and#946;-glucans for human use are yet to report any major adverse effects. All the three polymers selected in this research are exopolymers (pullulan, curdlan and chitosan) and are suitable for use as carrier for drug delivery. The major limitations seen particularly with regard to pullulan and chitosan production were solved to a great extent making their production economical. In the near future it may be possible to design and produce biopolymers with desirable properties through controlled fermentation system. It is within the realm of possibility that a design based study similar to that available with proteins emerges with regard to the biopolymers.