The present invention includes a hydrogel and a method of making a porous hydrogel by preparing an aqueous mixture of an uncrosslinked polymer and a crystallizable molecule; casting the mixture into a vessel; allowing the cast mixture to dry to form an amorphous hydrogel film; seeding the cast mixture with a seed crystal of the crystallizable molecule; growing the crystallizable molecule into a crystal structure within the uncrosslinked polymer; crosslinking the polymer around the crystal structure under conditions in which the crystal structure within the crosslinked polymer is maintained; and dissolving the crystals within the crosslinked polymer to form the porous hydrogel.

Methods and cleaning compositions for reduction of nucleic acid contamination on surfaces, in air, and in solutions using modified pectin are provided.

Aspects of the invention provide compositions for use in the treatment galectin-dependent diseases. In particular, compositions comprising a selectively depolymerized, branched galactoarabino-rhamnogalacturonate whose backbone is predominantly comprised of 1,4-linked galacturonic acid (GalA) moieties, with a lesser backbone composition of alternating 1,4-linked GalA and 1,2-linked rhamnose (Rha), which in-turn is linked to any number of side chains, including predominantly 1,4-b-D-galactose (Gal) and 1,5-a-L-arabinose (Ara) residues.

Modified biopolymers, such as, charge-modified biopolymers, cross-linked biopolymers, and cross-linked, charge-modified biopolymers are provided along with methods of producing and using the same.

The present invention provides alkyl substituted polysaccharide compositions and methods of repairing substrates involving use of the alkyl substituted polysaccharide compositions.

Modified biopolymers, such as, charge-modified biopolymers, cross-linked biopolymers, and cross-linked, charged modified biopolymers are provided along with methods of producing and using the same.

The disclosure discloses a method for co-production of gelling and emulsifying pectins from chicory/Jerusalem artichoke pulp, including raw material pretreatment, extraction, filtration, concentration, alcohol precipitation, and drying. According to the cell wall structure and tissue characteristics of chicory/Jerusalem artichoke pulp, the disclosure targetedly adopts the salt extraction and the dilute acid extraction to sequentially produce gelling and emulsifying pectin products. The gelling chicory/Jerusalem artichoke pectin has characteristics of simple molecular structure, high purity, low degree of acetylation (DA), and high gel strength; and the emulsifying chicory/Jerusalem artichoke pectin has excellent emulsifying properties. The extraction method for chicory/Jerusalem artichoke pectin in the disclosure can provide two types of pectin at the same time, broaden the application range of chicory/Jerusalem artichoke pectin, and improve the processing utilization of chicory/Jerusalem artichoke pulp.

A composite includes a polymer network including pectin or a pectin derivative; a low-molecular compound having a hydrophilic group in the polymer network; and a polyvalent metal ion coordinated with an anion present in the polymer chain of the polymer network.

The present invention provides a polysaccharide supported fluorinating agents which can be used in fluorination reactions. The invention particularly describes a new bacterial cellulose supported tetra-n-butyl ammonium fluoride complex [NBu.sub.4(Bac-Cell-OH)F] which is stable and non-hygroscopic. The invention further relates to a process for fluorination using the [NBu.sub.4(Bac-Cell-OH)F] complex.

A gelled biological growth medium in a culture container, as well as kits and methods of producing the growth medium, utilize gelling of a liquid growth medium containing low methoxyl pectin on a film of calcium salt deposited on a growth surface of the culture container. The salt acts as a trigger for gelation and is conveniently deposited on the walls by evaporation of methanol or another volatile solvent.