Shapes and motions of polysaccharide chains

Abstract

Computer-based molecular modeling of single stranded polysaccharide chains is capable of a quantitative description of the polymer chain dimensions in dilute aqueous solution. The influence of glycosidic linkage position and stereochemistry on the local chain trajectory is now well understood. Some illustrative results of modeling of this sort are reported here. More recent efforts to understand the possible influence of glycosidic linkage type on the dynamics of polysaccharide conformational change are also described.