Preliminary studies on the composition and rheological properties of the extracellular polysaccharide synthesized by Pseudomonas PBI (NCIB 11264).

A microorganism isolated from a carbohydrate-rich industrial effluent synthesized an exocellular slime polysaccharide composed of glucose and galactose in a molar ratio of 7.45 +/- 0.68 : 1, and two non-carbohydrate substituents acetate (3--4%) and pyruvate (5--9%). Contamination by rhamnose and mannose was detectable in crude polysaccharide samples. Solutions of the polysaccharide were pseudoplastic, but not thixotropic, and formed gels in the presence of certain trivalent cations.