Enzymatic degradation of κ-carrageenan in aqueous solution.

Enzymatic degradation of standard κ-carrageenan and the low-gelling hybrid κ-/μ-carrageenan were conducted using recombinant Pseudoalteromonas carrageenovora κ-carrageenase. The initial velocity of the enzyme was determined as a function of varying Tris or NaI concentrations and at constant 200 mM cosolutes concentration, adjusting NaI and Tris concentrations accordingly. In both cases, we observed strong inhibition of the enzyme with increasing amounts of iodide. The characterization of the κ- and κ-/μ-carrageenan ordering by optical rotation and the visualization of iodide binding on carrageenan by 127I NMR revealed that inhibition was not caused by the disordered−ordered transition of carrageenan in NaI, but by iodide binding. These results were confirmed by analysis of the degradation products by gel permeation chromatography. Degradation of carrageenan in the disordered state led to a rapid decrease in molecular mass and the production of all possible neo-κ-carrabiose oligomers. In the ordered confor...