Merck, A7002-500G, Agar

General description
Agar is a polysaccharide consisting of β- D-galactopyranosyl and 3,6-anhydro-α-L- galactopyranosyl units. Depending on the source agar exists as various substituted forms such as methyl and sulphate ether. It is a linear galactan polysaccharide isolated from the cell wall of Rhodophyceae class of seaweeds.
Application
Agar has been used:
as a component of solid N6 complete medium
in modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium for culturing germinating lentil and faba bean seeds and in the regeneration of transgenic cauliflower and broccoli explants
as a component of agar mixture to simulate a vascular phantom in carotid vessel

Biochem/physiol Actions
Agar exists in left-handed helical conformation and aggregation of hexagonal fibers leads to gel formation. The hydrophobicity of the disaccharides determines its gelling property and solubility. Agar is a major component of the microbial solid medium. It has applications in tissue engineering, pharmaceutics and in cell encapsulation.