Fig. 1.

Structural representation of the two sulfated fucans, Structures 1 and 2, both synthesized by the sea urchin L. variegatus. While Structure 1 is a tetrasaccharide repeating polysaccharide made up of the following sequence [→3)-α-l-Fucp-2,4-di($\text{OS}{{\text{O}}_3}^{-}$)-(1 → 3)-α-l-Fucp-2($\text{OS}{{\text{O}}_3}^{-}$)-(1 → 3)-α-l-Fucp-2($\text{OS}{{\text{O}}_3}^{-}$)-(1 → 3)-α-l-Fucp-4($\text{OS}{{\text{O}}_3}^{-}$)-(1→]_n, Structure 2 is a monosaccharide repeating polysaccharide made up of the following unit [→3)-α-l-Fucp-4($\text{OS}{{\text{O}}_3}^{-}$)-(1→]_n. The residues of Structure 1 are labeled with letters A, B, C and D for individual assignments and recognition in the further experiments and explanations. The carbon-linked hydrogens were omitted in the cartoon in order to provide a clear illustration. Sulfated groups are highlighted by dashed ellipses for fast visualization of the sulfation pattern.