A packaging system for the storage of an ophthalmic device includes a sealed container containing one or more unused ophthalmic devices immersed in an aqueous packaging solution comprising one or more crosslinked polymeric networks. The one or more crosslinked polymeric network comprises a reaction product of a first glycosaminoglycan, a second glycosaminoglycan, and a first crosslinking agent, wherein the first glycosaminoglycan is different than the second glycosaminoglycan. The aqueous packaging solution has an osmolality of at least about 180 mOsm/kg, a pH of about 6 to about 9 and is heat sterilized

Disclosed are antimicrobial vaccines comprising oligosaccharide β-(1.fwdarw.6)-glucosamine groups.

A glycosaminoglycan derivative which is obtainable by a process that includes the steps of N-desulfation of from 25% to 100% of the N-sulfated residues of a glycosaminoglycan, and oxidation, by periodate at a pH of from 5.5 to 10.0, of from 25% to 100% of the 2-N-, 3-O-non-sulfated glucosamine residues, and of the 2-O-non-sulfated uronic acid residues of said glycosaminoglycan, under conditions effective to convert adjacent diols and adjacent OH/NH.sub.2 to aldehydes. The process further includes reduction, by sodium borohydride, of said oxidized glycosaminoglycan, under conditions effective to convert said aldehydes to alcohols, where the glycosaminoglycan is heparin, low molecular weight heparin, heparan sulfate or fractions thereof.

The present invention relates to the diagnosis of clinical conditions characterized by undesirable and/or abnormal selectin expression. In particular, the invention provides for the use of fucoidans for the detection of selectins using imaging techniques including ultrasonography, scintigraphy and MRI. Selectin-targeted imaging agents are provided that comprise at least one fucoidan moiety associated with at least one detectable moiety. Methods and kits are described for using these imaging agents in the diagnosis of clinical conditions such as thrombosis, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, stroke and ischemic brain trauma, neurodegenerative disorders, tumor metastasis and tumor growth, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The present invention relates to a method for degrading a polysaccharide in the field of food, medicine or chemical industry. In particular, a molecular chain of the polysaccharide is broken by ozone into polysaccharides with smaller molecular weights, oligoses and/or oligosaccharides. The polysaccharides include linear or branched glycans extracted from plants, traditional Chinese medicinal materials, animals, fungi, or microorganisms and sulfated polysaccharides or esterified polysaccharides formed by sulfation or esterification thereof. As an oxidizing agent in the reaction, the ozone can be used alone or can be used under the catalysis of a base, a metal ion, hydrogen peroxide, UV light, or activated carbon to accelerate the reaction. The method for degrading the polysaccharide in the present invention uses milder reaction conditions compared to a conventional acid-catalytic degradation method, has higher reaction efficiency and a controllable reaction process, does not need to use an acid, and reduces environmental pollution.

Compositions and methods for inducing an immune response against extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) are described. In particular, multivalent vaccines containing O-antigen polysaccharide covalently bound to an exotoxin A of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (EPA) carrier protein that can withstand multiple environmental stresses are describe.

The present invention relates to a method for dynamic filtration of a cross-linked biopolymer-based hydrogel to remove unwanted molecules from the gel. In particular, the invention relates to dynamic filtration of a hyaluronic acid hydrogel using a dynamic filtration construction with rotating and semipermeable filter discs.

Low endotoxin fucan compositions comprising a therapeutically effective, medically acceptable fucan in a composition comprising less than about 0.2, 0.18, 0.1, 0.01, 0.001, or 0.0005 endotoxin units (EU) per milligram of the fucan are disclosed. Methods and systems for removing or reducing the amount of endotoxins from a starting fucan composition are also disclosed.

A highly-sulfated modified fucan comprising a therapeutically effective, medically acceptable fucan in a composition comprising a sulfate to fucose molar ratio of greater than or equal to about 1.2, 1.81 or 1.9 and/or a sulfate to fucose plus galactose molar ratio of greater than or equal to about 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3.

Compositions, methods, systems, etc., are provided for modified and/or purified fucans and corresponding fucan-containing compositions that inhibit fibrous adhesions among other advantages. The purified/modified fucans and fucan compositions have a reduced level of non-fucan components or impurities such as those found in a starting fucan composition. Such reduced undesirable components or impurities include, for example, undesired components bound to the fucan and compounds in the composition that are not a part of or bound to the fucan.