Pectic acids, also known as polygalacturonic acids, are demethylated derivatives of pectins. Sulfated pectins have been found to have anticoagulant ¹ and antiviral ² activity. However, little information exists on sulfation patterns of obtained derivatives, necessitating further study.

In this work, aim was to sulfate and comprehensively characterize the sulfated pectates. To do this, we first sulfated pectic acids in DMF or DMSO with Py·SO ₃ in various conditions. Protecting groups, such as benzoyl and TBDMS-group were also used in an effort to obtain regioselectively sulfated pectates, thus further aiding structural characterization. Then pectate sulfates were analysed, primarily with NMR-spectroscopy, but also with IR-spectroscopy, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and elemental analysis (EA).

As a result, information on sulfation patterns, including preferential localization of sulfate groups in galacturonic acid residue, was gathered. Such information can be used to rapidly determine sulfation pattern in future works and thus enable easier determination of structure-property relationship for biomedical applications.

Sources

1. Román, Y. et al. Anticoagulant and antithrombotic effects of chemically sulfated fucogalactan and citrus pectin. Carbohydr. Polym. , 2017, 174, 731–739. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.06.110

2. Lopes Barboza, M. G. et al. In vitro antiviral effect of sulfated pectin from Mangifera indica against the infection of the viral agent of childhood bronchiolitis (Respiratory Syncytial Virus – RSV). Int. J. Biol. Macromol., 2024, 280, 135387. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.135387