The present invention provides amidic polymers, which exhibit shale swelling inhibitor activity having improved bio-degradability. The amidic polymers of the invention may be employed in a wide variety of compositions, particularly in subterranean drilling operations. Non-limiting generic structures of the amidic polymers are set out below: (1) wherein R.sub.1-R.sub.3 and integers m and n are defined herein.

##STR00001##

A composition contains a silylated polysaccharide, where the silylated polysaccharide is characterized by: (a) having linked fructose, galactose, anhydrogalactose, or glucose saccharide units provided that glycosidic linkages of glucose are alpha linkages and that the silylated polysaccharide is other than a silylated starch; and (b) on average 1 to 100 mole-percent of the hydroxyl groups on the polysaccharide have been silylated with a silyl group having the structure SiR.sub.3 linked to the polysaccharide through a COSi bond where each R is independently selected from hydrocarbyl radicals having from one to 12 carbon atoms, provided that on average at least one R per polysaccharide has a terminally unsaturated carbon-carbon double bond.

Film products, especially suitable for oral delivery, which can be formed during manufacture in the form of large and/or heavy film strips or sheets and subsequently cut into uniform dosage units, each dosage unit being uniform in content and having distributed therein a linear polysaccharide, such as pullulan, a plasticizer, and an active component.

A composition contains a silylated polysaccharide, where the silylated polysaccharide is characterized by: (a) having linked fructose, galactose, anhydrogalactose, or glucose saccharide units provided that glycosidic linkages of glucose are alpha linkages and that the silylated polysaccharide is other than a silylated starch; and (b) on average 1 to 100 mole-percent of the hydroxyl groups on the polysaccharide have been silylated with a silyl group having the structure SiR.sub.3 linked to the polysaccharide through a COSi bond where each R is independently selected from hydrocarbyl radicals having from one to 12 carbon atoms, provided that on average at least one R per polysaccharide has a terminally unsaturated carbon-carbon double bond.

The present invention provides a silicone-modified pullulan, the silicone-modified pullulan being an addition reaction product of the following components (a) and (b): (a) pullulan having a water content of 1.0 mass % or less and a calcium content of less than 100 ppm; and (b) isocyanate group-containing silicone represented by the formula (1), wherein the silicone-modified pullulan has a calcium content of less than 100 ppm and a content of the urea group-containing silicone represented by the formula (2) of less than 2,000 ppm.

The present invention provides amidic polymers, which exhibit shale swelling inhibitor activity having improved biodegradability. The amidic polymers of the invention may be employed in a wide variety of compositions, particularly in subterranean drilling operations. Non-limiting generic structures of the amidic polymers are set out below: formula (1) wherein R.sub.1-R.sub.3 and integers m and n are defined herein. ##STR00001##

A method for extracting pullulan polysaccharide from high-viscosity fermentation broth includes following steps: (1) removing cells from the fermentation broth; (2) removing proteins; (3) decolorizing by macroporous resin adsorption; (4) removing ions by ultrafiltration; and (5) drying, crushing and packaging. In the extraction method of the present application, by using natural polymer bioflocculant chitosan, the high-viscosity fermentation broth can be processed without dilution and addition of filter aids and organic solvents for alcohol precipitation, which reduces the pressure of subsequent decolorization, properly recycles the cell proteins, and avoids the potential hazard of the organic solvents. The method can obtain high-purity pullulan polysaccharide, improving the product yield and quality, reducing solid waste, reducing the production cost, and achieving a safe, efficient, continuous and automated production process.

A process for preparing (1.fwdarw.6)--D-glucan. A large amount of (1.fwdarw.6)--D-glucan can be prepared from banana by using this process. The chemical structure of (1.fwdarw.46)--D-glucan is shown as Scheme 1. The yield of (1.fwdarw.6)--D-glucan is 3-16 g/kg (with a purity of 85%-95%). This process provides a feasible technique for extensive utilization of banana, and can improve the additional value of banana products. This process is helpful for the sustainable development of banana processing industry.

##STR00001##

The present invention relate to three dimensional porous polysaccharide matrices able to induce mineralisation of a tissue in osseous site, as well as in non-osseous site, in the absence of stem cells or growth factors.

A modification of natural or synthetic polysaccharides by grafting polyetheramines, and the use of modified polysaccharides in the form of a hydrogel as a medium for cell culture. These hydrogel preparations may have heat-sensitive rheological properties that are interesting for their intracorporeal use in human and veterinary medicine, for cell culture and transport of biological samples.