What is Polyglutamic acid

Polyglutamic acid (PGA) is a polymer of the amino acid glutamic acid (GA).Gamma PGA (poly-gamma-glutamic acid, γ-PGA)—a form in which the peptide bond is located between the amino group of GA and the carboxyl group at the end of the side chain of GA—is the main component of the Japanese food natto.Gamma PGA is fermented by bacteria form.Gamma PGA has a wide range of potential uses ranging from food, pharmaceuticals and cosmeceuticals to water treatment. Another isomer, poly-alpha-glutamic acid, is used as a drug delivery system in cancer therapy and is being investigated for its use in the treatment of type 1 diabetes and its potential use in the production of AIDS vaccines.

Heavy metal removal

G-PGA is covalently incorporated into microfiltration membranes by attaching to the membrane pore surface, exhibiting ultrahigh heavy metal adsorption capacity.With a suitable low-pressure ultrafiltration technique, it was found that G-PGA could bind and effectively remove 99.8% of lead ions in water. Inbalaji et al. (2006)

Amino acid 

Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups.Although more than 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the α-amino acids that make up proteins.Only 22 alpha amino acids occur in the genetic code.Amino acids can be classified as α-(α-), β-(β-), γ-(γ-), or δ-(δ-) amino acids according to the position of the core structural functional groups; other categories involve polar, ionizing, and side chain groups Group type (aliphatic, acyclic, aromatic, containing hydroxyl or sulfur, etc.).In protein form, amino acid residues make up the second-largest component of human muscle and other tissues (water is the largest).In addition to their role as protein residues, amino acids are involved in many processes such as neurotransmitter transport and biosynthesis.They are thought to have played a key role in enabling life on Earth and its emergence.Amino acids are officially named by the IUPAC-IUBMB Joint Biochemical Nomenclature Committee based on the fictional "neutral" structure shown in the figure.For example, the systematic name for alanine is 2-alanine, based on the molecular formula CH3-CH(NH2)-COOH.The given systematic names and molecular formulas refer to the hypothetical form in which the amino group is unprotonated and the carboxyl group is undissociated.This convention helps to avoid various nomenclature problems, but should not be read to imply that these structures represent a substantial portion of the amino acid molecule.