Agar (C15-1290-129)

General description

Agar is a polysaccharide consisting of β- D-galactopyranosyl and 3,6-anhydro-α-L- galactopyranosyl units. Depending on the source agar exists as various substituted forms such as methyl and sulphate ether. It is a linear galactan polysaccharide isolated from the cell wall of Rhodophyceae class of seaweeds.

Application

Agar has been used:

• as a component of solid N6 complete medium
• in modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium for culturing germinating lentil and faba bean seeds and in the regeneration of transgenic cauliflower and broccoli explants
• as a component of agar mixture to simulate a vascular phantom in carotid vessel

Biochem/physiol Actions

Agar exists in left-handed helical conformation and aggregation of hexagonal fibers leads to gel formation. The hydrophobicity of the disaccharides determines its gelling property and solubility. Agar is a major component of the microbial solid medium. It has applications in tissue engineering, pharmaceutics and in cell encapsulation.