The aim of this study was to investigate the sulfated modification of laminarin and the changes in structure and antitumor activity. The chlorosulfonic acid-pyridine method was applied for sulfated modification. The molecular weights of laminarin and laminarin sulfate (LAMS) were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and IR and NMR spectra were also recorded. The surface conformations of laminarin and LAMS were observed with a scanning electron microscope. The antitumor activities of the two polysaccharides were also evaluated using an MTT assay. LAMS with a sulfate content of 45.92% and a molecular weight of 16,000 was synthesized. The IR spectra of laminarin and LAMS showed the characteristic absorption peaks of a polysaccharide, and LAMS also had the characteristic absorption peaks of sulfate moieties. The NMR spectra showed that laminarin and LAMS had β-(1→3) glycosidic bonds forming the main chain, and sulfate substitution was at the hydroxyl groups of C2 and C6. Under the scanning electron microscope, there were clear differences in surface conformation between laminarin and LAMS; laminarin was cloud-like and spongy, while LAMS was block-like and flaky. The MTT results showed that laminarin and LAMS had inhibitory effects on LoVo cell growth, and the antitumor activity of LAMS was higher than that of laminarin at the same concentration. This suggests that sulfated modification was able to change the laminarin structure and markedly enhance the antitumor activity.
Keywords: antitumor activity; laminarin; modification; sulfated.