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Amino-Acid Homopolymers Occurring in Nature

Microorganisms are capable of producing a wide variety of biopolymers. Homopolymer peptides, which are made up of only a single type of amino acid, are far less ubiquitous. The only two amino-acid homopolymers known to occur in nature are presented in this volume. Poly-epsilon-L-lysine is a polycati...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Clasificación:Libro Electrónico
Autor Corporativo: SpringerLink (Online service)
Otros Autores: Hamano, Yoshimitsu (Editor )
Formato: Electrónico eBook
Idioma:Inglés
Publicado: Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg : Imprint: Springer, 2010.
Edición:1st ed. 2010.
Colección:Microbiology Monographs, 15
Temas:
Acceso en línea:Texto Completo
Descripción
Sumario:Microorganisms are capable of producing a wide variety of biopolymers. Homopolymer peptides, which are made up of only a single type of amino acid, are far less ubiquitous. The only two amino-acid homopolymers known to occur in nature are presented in this volume. Poly-epsilon-L-lysine is a polycationic peptide and exhibits antimicrobial activity against a wide spectrum of microorganisms. It is both safe and biodegradable and is therefore used as a food preservative in several countries. In addition, there has been great interest in medical and other applications of poly-lysine and its derivatives. In contrast, poly-gamma-glutamic acid is an unusual anionic polypeptide. It is also water soluble, biodegradable, edible, non-toxic and non-immunogenic and can be chemically modified to introduce various drugs. These features are very useful for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Poly-glutamic acid is also a highly attractive as food ingredient.
Descripción Física:VII, 250 p. 62 illus. online resource.
ISBN:9783642124532
ISSN:1862-5584 ;