Extraction, Isolation and Analysis of Chondroitin Sulfate Glycosaminoglycans

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) including chondroitin sulfate (CS) and chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS) copolymers are anionic straight chain polysaccharides. They are galactosamine containing GAGs (galactosaminoglycans) having wide range of applications in pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries. This article reviews techniques to isolate and characterize these galactosaminoglycans from animal and poultry tissues. Patent based information is also discussed. Cartilaginous tissues are the major source of CS consisting entirely of D-glucuronosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine repeating disaccharide units, in which the galactosamine is sulfated at C4 or C6. In contrast, most galactosaminoglycans in non-cartilaginous connective tissues (e.g. skin and tendon) are CS/DS copolymers comprised of varying proportions of D-glucuronosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine and L-iduronosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine. Tissues are digested with proteinase (e.g. papain) to liberate GAGs, which are fractionated to isolate and purify galactosaminoglycans. Common techniques used for fractionation of GAGs include: precipitation with different concentrations of ethanol; solubilization of GAG precipitated as GAG-quarternary ammonium compound complexes with different concentrations of NaCl; anion exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. Purified galactosaminoglycans are examined by various methods including chondroitinase digestion, high performance liquid chromatography and electrophoresis. Histological methods are used to localize galactosaminoglycans in tissues. The patent information on the CS hydrolase and ultraviolet irradiation may be useful for the preparation of CS oligosaccharide.