Dextran

Gentran 40; LMD

Dextran is a complex branched polysaccharide made of many glucose molecules joined into chains of varying lengths. The straight chain consists of α1->6 glycosidic linkages between glucose molecules, while branches begin from α1->3 linkages (and in some cases, α1->2 and α1->4 linkages as well). (For information on the numbering of carbon atoms in glucose, see the glucose article.) Dextran is synthesized from sucrose by Leuconostoc mesenteroides streptococcus and Streptococcus ...