Pullulan: An exopolysaccharide and its various applications

Pullulan is a non-ionic polysaccharide obtained from fermentation of black yeast like Aureobasidium pullutans and is currently exploited in food and pharmaceutical industries due to its unique characteristics. Due to its properties like non-toxic, non-immunogenic, non-carcinogenic, non-mutagenic, pullulan is being explored for various biomedical applications viz., gene delivery, targeted drug therapy, tissue engineering, wound healing, and also being used in diagnostic applications like, perfusion, receptor, and lymph node target specific imaging and vascular compartment imaging. The unique linkage of alpha (1 -> 4) and alpha (1 -> 6) in pullulan endows this polymer with distinctive physical traits, including adhesive property and the ability to form fibers. This review article presents an historical outline, overview of properties, production, derivatives of pullulan, its versatile applicability and recent advances of pullulan. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.