The present studies aimed to investigate the chain conformation of fucosylated chondroitin sulfates from two different sea cucumbers Apostichopus japonicus (fCS-Aj), and Holothuria mexicana (fCS-Hm). The chain conformations were determined by SEC-MALLS-Visc-RI, indicating that the chain conformations of fCS-Aj and fCS-Hm were random coil and extended linear chain structure in PBS, respectively. Our results suggested that the formation of linear chain of fCS were due to a synergistic effect of molecular weight, sulfate content and sulfation patterns. The worm-like cylinder model indicated that fCS-Aj possessed more flexible chains compared with fCS-Hm. fCS-Aj and fCS-Hm all exhibited as negatively charged polymers with good thermal stability. The present studies were important for understanding the structure-activities relationship of fCSs.
Keywords: Chain conformation; Fucosylated chondroitin sulfate; Sea cucumber; Worm-like cylinder model.
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