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Preface BIOTECHNOLOGY is one of the oldest technologies, though, at the same time, it is also one of the newest. Since the age of Noah, biotechnology has been employed as a means of producing products that are both desirable and specific in function. In this contemporary age of biochemistry and molecular biology, however, biotechnology has assumed a totally different dimension of applicability regarding specificity and usefulness. As the demand increases for enhanced biocompatibility in products and for abundantly available raw materials from naturally renewable resources, more and more people have been turning to biotechnology to produce products and raw materials for the next decades. With their general availability in the vegetable kingdom, carbohydrates have proved to be a valuable substrate for biotechnology. Indeed, the production of corn sweeteners is a triumph of modern commercial biotechnology. Carbohydrates are also functionally important in the animal kingdom, but the vegetable-derived polysaccharides are much more accessible and available in higher quantities. In particular, starch-derived polysaccharides and oligosaccharides have proved to be exceptionally valuable in a broad spectrum of industrial and food applications. Because the main repeating monomer of these biopolymers is glucose, the diversity of functionality of these substances must result from structural differences. It was recognized fairly early on that changing the structure of starch polysaccharides can dramatically affect the behavior of those materials. For this reason, chemically modified starches and depolymerized starches have served competently over the years. Contemporary society, however, has stressed the importance of the perception of healthfullness. To meet the demands of this perception, a reduction in chemical modification will probably be required. To replace those necessary functionalities, biotechnology will be called on to perform the required structural changes. To achieve this end, however, a more fundamental understanding of starch structures as well as function-structure relationships of these compounds will be required. Furthermore, enzyme systems must be understood along with the basic biochemical and genetic mechanisms that control their production and behavior. The purpose of this book, as well as the symposiumfromwhich it was derived, is to focus attention on the many facets of the biotechnology of amylodextrin polysaccharides. It is hoped that not only will the
ix In Biotechnology of Amylodextrin Oligosaccharides; Friedman, R.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1991.
potential usefulness of this group of substances be illuminated, but also the broad extent of fundamental scientific information will be revealed. This book is designed to be useful to a broad array of researchers who might find oligosaccharide biopolymers of interest. As such, it must cover biochemistry and enzymology as well as those unique structural characteristics that require novel analytical tools. New aspects of usefulness must also be addressed. Consequently, the book has three basic parts:
Downloaded by UNIV OF MEMPHIS on September 10, 2012 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: April 30, 1991 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1991-0458.pr001
• The first section deals with the basic biochemical aspects of biotechnology of amylodextrin oligosaccharides. It includes an introduction to genetic engineering as well as enzyme structure and enzymology. • The second section focuses on applications of specific new analytical tools that are essential to characterize adequately these new types of materials. These oligosaccharides are characterized as polymeric materials. • The third area addresses specific fields of usefulness for these polysaccharides. Several years ago, it would have been difficult to find more than a few contributions on the subject. Soon it will be necessary to develop entire books on specific areas of oligosaccharide biotechnology. For example, it is expected that genetic engineering will have a significant effect on the direction of development of these substances. I acknowledge the financial assistance of the following organizations, which made the symposium possible: Allied-Signal Corporation; American Maize-Products Company; Aqualon Company; Corn Products Company; D C A Food Industries, Inc.; Janssen Pharmaceutica; Miles, Inc.; National Starch and Chemical Corporation; Novo Laboratories; Pfizer, Inc.; Pioneer Hi-Bred International; U.O.P.; and Wyatt Technology Corporation. In addition, I would like to acknowledge the assistance and support of the officers of American Maize-Products Company, in particular William Ziegler HI, Patric J. McLaughlin, and Frances R. Katz, for their support and encouragement in the development of this book. The assistance of Sherree Jackson and Gloria Kras in the preparation of the text is also acknowledged. I would like to thank Alfred French for the graphic idea incorporated in the cover design. Finally, I would like to thank Ellen and the boys for their inspiration and vast amounts of encouragement. ROBERT B. FRIEDMAN
American Maize-Products Company Hammond, IN 46320-1094 September 9, 1990
x In Biotechnology of Amylodextrin Oligosaccharides; Friedman, R.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1991.
