Selection of a nonaqueous two-phase solvent system for fractionation of xylo-oligosaccharide prebiotics using a conductor-like screening model for real solvents

ABSTRACT

Fractionation of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) using a liquid–liquid solvent system can be a difficult endeavor due to the high solubility of XOS in water. Use of a nonaqueous solvent system is a solution for XOS fractionation. XOS are gaining attention as a prebiotic food additive and are abundant in agricultural residues. We describe the use of a molecular modeling approach to determine which solvents and at what volume ratio to use for XOS fractionation. The conductor-like screening model for real solvents was used to predict the partition coefficients of xylose and two major functional XOS—xylobiose and xylotriose, based on the structure of the compounds and the composition of solvents in a panel of nonaqueous biphasic solvent systems. Eleven common solvents used in countercurrent chromatography were used to build 12 biphasic solvents model systems that were then evaluated and compared using shake flask experiments to determine which could fractionate the three XOS from a mixture. The model and experimental results indicate that a heptane/n-butanol/acetonitrile system at a volume ratio of 9:4:5 would result in a partition coefficient close to the region of optimal separation for a countercurrent chromatography fractionation.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• COSMO-RS
• countercurrent chromatography
• molecular modeling
• nonaqueous solvent system
• solvent selection
• xylo-oligosaccharides as prebiotics