Polysaccharide materials, chromatograms

One-dimensional paper chromatography is an inexpensive and convenient purification technique. Milligram quantities can be obtained by running several one-dimensional paper chromatograms. The appropriate bands are excised and eluted and the fractions combined [9]. Contaminant polysaccharide material may be removed subsequently by using a small RP-18 column. 

The whole procedure normally takes about 1 hr. The acid is then evaporated, and the dry matter can be analyzed. This method can be applied to cellulose from wood, as a-cellulose or pulp, or to other celluloses (e.g., cotton) as well as to cellulosic materials with higher amounts of other polysaccharides (e.g., holocellulose). The chromatograms of the hydrolysates of a-cellulose from beechwood and of holocellulose from sprucewood (Figure 6) are examples of the application of this method. Compared with sulfuric acid hydrolysis, the total sugar yield from the spruce holocellulose is higher after the hydrolysis with concentrated TFA (Table II). Regarding the individual sugars, it can be seen that the... 

Figure 8. Chromatograms of the hydrolysates of materials with low polysaccharide content milled wood lignin (MWL) from sprucewood and a 180-million-year-old protopinacea...

---