Synthesis, preliminary characterization, and application of novel surfactants from highly branched xyloglucan oligosaccharides

A novel class of nonionic, carbohydrate-based surfactants has been synthesized from the plant polysaccharide xyloglucan. Enzymatic hydrolysis of xyloglucan yielded a series of well-defined, highly branched oligosaccharides that, following reductive animation, were readily conjugated with fatty acids bearing C₈ to C₁₈ chains under mild conditions. The critical micelle concentration, determined by tensiometry and dye-inclusion measurements, showed a typical dependence on acyl chain length and was sensitive to the degree of galactosylation of the head group. Several compounds from this new group of surfactants, especially those with C₁₄ and C ₁₆ chains, were useful for the extraction of membrane-bound enzyme markers from different plant cell compartments in catalytically active form.