Patent ID: 8642296

Claim:
An isolated and purified glucose and fructose biopolymer having a 0.2 to 0.7 glucose/fructose ratio, wherein the biopolymer has the following properties: 900-1,100 Kilodalton molecular weight; two vitreous transition points, the first between 20° C. and 30° C. and the second between 190° C. and 220° C.; stability in aqueous solutions, pH values ranging from 2 to 9; 1,000 to 3,000 centipoise viscosity when the polymer is at 10% to 20% concentration in an aqueous solution at 30° C.; water adsorption capacity of 6.12 mg/g to 353.20 mg/g depending on relative humidity; and highly soluble in water, able to form hydrogel homogeneous dispersions at maximum concentration of 50% w/v, and wherein the biopolymer is prepared by: a) fermenting Lactococcus lactis strain (NRRL B-30656) in a culture medium developed for this microorganism's growth, b) recovering an extracellular enzyme extract excreted from the Lactococcus lactis strain (NRRL B-30656) into the culture medium by centrifuging or ultra-filtration, c) incubating the extracellular enzyme extract from the Lactococcus lactis strain (NRRL B-30656) with a sucrose substrate, wherein the extracellular enzyme extract comprises glucosyltransferase and fructosyltransferase activity, thereby obtaining the biopolymer via an enzymatic reaction, and d) recovering and purifying the biopolymer, and wherein hexoses in the isolated and purified biopolymer consist only of fructose and glucose.