Structural characterization of a water-insoluble (1 → 3)-α-d-glucan isolated from the Penicillium chrysogenum

A water-insoluble polysaccharide (WIP) was isolated from Penicillium mycelia by extracting with sodium hydroxide. Its structural characteristics were investigated by composition analysis, gel permeation chromatography, 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The results indicated that it was a linear (1 → 3)-α-d-glucan with a molecular weight of 180 kDa.