crude polysaccharides is determined using an Agilent PL-GPC 50 (Agilent
Technologies, Amstelveen, Netherlands) apparatus equipped with a refractive
index detector (RID, G1362A) and an ultrahydrogel linear column (300
mm × 7.8 mm i.d., Waters Corporation, MA, USA).32 (link) The sample solution is prepared by dissolving 1.0 mg of
polysaccharides in 1.0 mL of purified water. After being treated with
a 0.22 μm membrane filter, 20 μL of sample solution is
injected into a chromatographic system. The mobile phase is 0.02 M
KH2PO4 (pH 6.0), the flow rate is 0.6 mL/min,
the column temperature is 35 °C, and the detector temperature
is 45 °C.
Agilent GPC software A.02.01 is applied to process
data. The relationship between Mw and
the elution volume is built according to a previously reported study.33 (link) Preliminary calibration is conducted using dextrans
with various molecular weights (5, 12, 50, 150, 210, and 410 kDa)
as references. The Mw of the sample is
estimated by the calibration equation established above.