This invention is intended to produce a novel functional material through solubilization and molecular weight reduction of a water-insoluble polymeric compound, such as a water-insoluble protein or water-insoluble polysaccharide, in a simple and efficient manner. This invention provides a method for producing a degradation product of a water-insoluble polymeric compound comprising the steps of: bringing a water-insoluble polymeric compound into contact with a solid acid catalyst, heating the resulting mixture, and recovering a supernatant; adding an aqueous medium to the solid acid catalyst after the supernatant is recovered, agitating and heating the resulting mixture, and recovering a supernatant; washing the solid acid catalyst with an aqueous medium and recovering a wash solution; mixing the recovered supernatant with the wash solution, so as to obtain a fraction that has not adsorbed to the solid acid catalyst; and eluting an adsorbed fraction from the solid acid catalyst and recovering an eluate, so as to obtain a fraction that has adsorbed to the solid acid catalyst.

The present invention discloses a matrix comprising a modified polysaccharide consisting of repeating disaccharide units whereby in at least 11% of the disaccharide units one primary alcohol group is oxidized into a carboxylic acid group.

A cell tissue gel, comprising one or more matrix molecules cross-linked with a cross-linking agent, and a quenching agent bound to a reactive group of the cross-linking agent, wherein the quenching agent contains a moiety that is capable of reacting with the reactive group of the cross-linking agent and the one or more matrix molecules contain one or more functional groups that are capable of cross-linking with the reactive group, the amount of the reactive group of the cross-linking agent being equal to or less than a total amount including the amount of the one or more functional groups and the amount of the moiety.

A process for bioprinting wherein a matrix comprising a modified primary hydroxyl groups containing polysaccharide comprising repeating disaccharide units wherein in at least part of the disaccharide units the primary hydroxyl group is replaced by functional groups selected from carboxyl groups, halide groups or groups comprising sulfur or phosphorus atoms, like e.g. sulfate groups, sulfonate groups, phosphonate groups and phosphate groups, is used and bioink formulations.

A capsule for preparing a beverage from beverage powder, such as coffee from coffee powder, by introducing water into the capsule. The capsule includes a compacted pellet made of a powder containing at least one polysaccharide. The compacted pellet is sheathed with at least one coating layer that includes a cross-linked polysaccharide. The cross-linked polysaccharide can be obtained by cross-linking a polysaccharide with a cross-linking agent without the use of a polyol spacer. Also disclosed are methods for manufacturing such a capsule.

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 discloses a matrix comprising a modified polysaccharide consisting of repeating disaccharide units whereby in at least 11% of the disaccharide units one primary alcohol group is oxidized into a carboxylic acid group.

A method for the production of particles by reacting functional groups on the surface of non-magnetic porous particles with functional groups on the surface of magnetic particles to form a covalent bond, to obtain particles supplemented with magnetic particles covalently bound to the outer part of said particles. Advantages include an increased binding capacity.

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.

A method for the manufacture of agar or agarose beads, the method comprising the steps of: i) providing a water phase comprising an aqueous solution of agar or agarose at a temperature above the gelling temperature of said aqueous solution; ii) providing an oil phase comprising a natural or vegetable oil at a temperature above the gelling temperature of the aqueous solution provided in step i); iii) combining the water phase provided in step i) with the oil phase provided in step ii) in a reactor, and adding an emulsifier; iv) emulsifying the mixture obtained in step iii), preferably by agitating the mixture, thereby creating an emulsion; v) performing a stepwise cooling comprising a first cooling step for cooling the emulsion obtained in step iv) to a temperature 0.1-30 degrees C. above the gelling temperature of the aqueous solution provided in step i), followed by a second cooling step for emptying the reactor from the emulsion and passing the emulsion through a heat exchanger, thus resulting in cooling of the emulsion to a temperature below the gelling temperature of the aqueous solution provided in step i); and vi) recovering of agar or agarose beads from said emulsion.