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A new bacterium BL-2 excreting a novel cationic polyglucosamine biopolymer was isolated from the spoiled leaves of Chinese cabbage and identified as Enterobacter sp. BL-2. The isolated Enterobacter sp. BL-2 was cultivated in pH-stat fed-batch culture using acetic acid as the feeding stock at pH 8.0, resulting in 17.11 g/l of cells and 1.53 g/l of an extracellular biopolymer after 72 h. The excreted biopolymer was purified by a three-step procedure, involving ethanol precipitation and deproteinizations, to a nearly homogeneous state, and its molecular weight was found to be 106 kDa. It was composed of glucosamine, rhamnose, and galactose at a molar ratio of 86.4:1.6:1.0, respectively, indicating a rarely found novel high-glucosamine-containing biopolymer. The FTIR and 13C-NMR spectra of the novel cationic polyglucosamine biopolymer PGB-1 revealed a close identity with chitosan from crab shell. It can effectively flocculate various suspended solids including kaolin clay, Ca(OH)2, Al2O3, active carbon, microbial cells, and acidic dyes.
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