Date of Award

2020

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Department

Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

First Advisor

David Rowley

Abstract

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are a serious problem worldwide, especially for females. Previous research in our laboratory suggests that cranberry pectic oligosaccharides (cPOS) can reverse dormant phenotypes in UPEC and therefore could prove useful in the prevention of recurrent UTIs. This thesis focused on the purification and structure determination of purified pectic oligosaccharides from cranberry hull extract. The research helped established the structures of cPOS, provided high purity materials for biological testing, and enabled further studies on the effect of different degrees of polymerization (DP) in preventing dormant phenotypes in UPEC. More specifically, cPOS was determined to be comprised of galacturonic acid residues by applying chemical derivatization methods. Small quantities of terpene glycosides impurities in previously tested fractions were removed successfully by implementing a trituration method. The bioassay results of terpene glycosides-free cPOS confirmed the impurities were not responsible for the bioactivity of cPOS. Finally, a semi-preparative HPLC method using HILIC chromatography was established for the purification of cPOS components with variable DPs. A preliminary structure-activity relationship based on the variation of cPOS DPs is also described.

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