Sea Urchin Spines as a Model-System for Permeable,Light-Weight Ceramics with Graceful Failure Behavior. Part I. Mechanical Behavior of Sea Urchin Spines under Compression

The spines of pencil and lance urchins Heterocentrotus mammillatus and Phyllacanthus imperialis were studied as a model of light-weight material with high impact resistance.The complex and variable skeleton construction ('stereom') of body and spines of sea urchins consists of highly porous Mg-bearing calcium carbonate.This basically brittle material with pronounced single-crystal cleavage does not fracture by spontaneous catastrophic device failure but by graceful failure over the range of tens of millimeter of bulk compression instead.This was observed in bulk compression tests and blunt indentation experiments on regular,infiltrated and latex coated sea urchin spine segments.Microstructural characterization was carried out using X-ray computer tomography,optical and scanning electron microscopy.The behavior is interpreted to result from the hierarchic structure of sea urchin spines from the rnacroscale down to the nanoscale.Guidelines derived from this study see ceramics with layered porosity as a possible biomimetic construction for appropriate applications.

Effects of UV-B radiation on fitness related behaviors of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius

Ozone depletion induced by anthropogenic gases has been increasing the transmission of solar ultraviolet-B radiation(UV-B, 280–315 nm) through the atmosphere, which may impact the fitness of marine invertebrates in intertidal and shallow waters. To our knowledge, however, the responses of fitness related behaviors to UV-B radiation at different intensities have been rarely studied in marine invertebrates. For the first time, the present study investigated the eff ects of exposure of one hour to UV-B radiation at different intensities on foraging behavior, Aristotle's lantern reflex and righting behavior of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius. Exposure of one hour to UV-B radiation at 10 μW/cm^2 significantly reduced foraging behavior. An intensity dependent eff ect of exposure to UV-B radiation was found in the duration of the Aristotle's lantern reflex. Exposure to UV-B radiation at 20 μW/cm^2 for one hour significantly reduced the duration of the Aristotle's lantern reflex, but 10 μW/cm^2 did not. There was no significant diff erence of righting response time among sea urchins exposed to 0, 10 and 20 μW/cm^2 for one hour. To test potential carryover ef fects, the behavioral traits were re-measured three days later. We found significant carryover eff ects of UV-B radiation on foraging time and righting response time, but not on the duration of the Aristotle's lantern reflex. The present study indicates that a brief exposure of one hour to UV-B radiation can significantly aff ect the duration of Aristotle's lantern reflex, righting response time and foraging behavior of a sea urchin, although the immediate impacts and carryover eff ects were highly trait dependent. This study provides new information into the behavioral responses of marine invertebrates to exposure to UV-B radiation. Future studies should be carried out to investigate long-term carryover eff ects of UV-B radiation on behavioral and physiological fitness related traits.

Sea urchin‐like NiMoO_(4) nanorod arrays as highly efficient bifunctional catalysts for electrocatalytic/photovoltage‐driven urea electrolysis

Developing multifunctional electrocatalysts with high catalytic activity,longterm stability,and low cost is essential for electrocatalytic energy conversion.Herein,sea urchinlike NiMoO_(4) nanorod arrays grown on nickel foam has been developed as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for urea oxidation and hydrogen evolution.The NiMoO_(4)‐200/NF catalyst exhibits efficient activity toward hydrogen evolution reaction with a low overpotential of only 68 mV in 1.0 mol/L KOH to gain a current density of 10 mA cm^(–2).The NiMoO_(4)‐300/NF catalyst exhibits a prominent oxygen evolution reaction(OER)catalytic activity with an overpotential of 288 mV at 50 mA cm^(–2),as well as for urea oxidation reaction with an ultralow potential of 1.36 V at 10 mA cm^(–2).The observed difference in electrocatalytic activity and selectivity,derived by temperature variation,is ascribed to different lattice oxygen contents.The lattice oxygen of NiMoO_(4)‐300/NF is more than that of NiMoO_(4)‐200/NF,and the lattice oxygen is conducive to the progress of OER.A urea electrolyzer was assembled with Ni‐MoO_(4)‐200/NF and NiMoO_(4)‐300/NF as cathode and anode respectively,delivering a current density of 10 mA cm^(–2)at a cell voltage of merely 1.38 V.The NiMoO_(4)nanorod arrays has also been successfully applied for photovoltage‐driven urea electrolysis and hydrogen production,revealing its great potential for solar‐driven energy conversion.

Sea Urchin Spines as a Model-System for Permeable,Light-Weight Ceramics with Graceful Failure Behavior.Part Ⅱ.Mechanical Behavior of Sea Urchin Spine Inspired Porous Aluminum Oxide Ceramics under Compression

Sea urchin spines were chosen as a model system for biomimetic ceramics obtained using starch-blended slip casting. Porous alumina ceramics with cap-shaped layers with different alternating porosities were found to have superior fracture behavior under bulk compression compared to ceramics with uniform porosity.They fail in a cascading manner,absorbing high amounts of energy during extended compression paths.The porosity variation in an otherwise single phase material mimicks the architectural microstructure design of sea urchin spines of Heterocentrotus mammillatus,which are promising model materials for impact protection.

Assessment of negative phototaxis in long-term fasted Glyptocidaris crenularis:a new insight into measuring stress responses of sea urchins in aquaculture

A cost-effective method was designed to measure the behavioral response of negative phototaxis to high-intensity illumination in the sea urchin Glyptocidaris crenularis. Ninety sea urchins were randomly and equally divided into two aquaculture environment groups： a fasted group, which was starved during the experiment, and a fed group. After 10 months, the total mortality of each group was recorded. Then, 15 sea urchins were randomly selected from each group and behavioral responses to high-intensity illumination were investigated for each sea urchin. After the behavioral experiment, body measurements of the trial sea urchins were taken. The results reveal that food deprivation significantly affected test diameter （P〈0.01）, body weight （P〈0.01）, gonad weight （P〈0.0I）, and gut weight （P〈0.01）. Furthermore, food deprivation also affected negative phototaxis behaviors of time to rapid spine movement （P〈0.01）, time to the 1 cm position （P〈0.05）, and walking distance in 300 s （P〈0.01）, but not time to body reaction （P〉0.05）. The mortality rates of fasted and fed urchins were 6.7% and 0%, respectively. The present study provides evidence that food deprivation has a significant effect on phenotypic traits and behavioral responses to high-intensity illumination in the sea urchin G. crenularis. With this method, environmental stressors can be easily detected by measuring proper optional indicators. This study provides a new insight into measuring stress responses of sea urchins in aquaculture. However, further studies should be carried out to understand more environmental factors and to compare this potential behavioral method with immune, physiological, and epidemiological approaches.

Isolation of Immune-Relating 185/333-1 Gene from Sea Urchin(Strongylocentrotus intermedius) and Its Expression Analysis

The 185/333 gene family involved in the immune response of sea urchin.One 185/333 c DNA was isolated from Strongylocentrotus intermedius,and named as Si185/333-1.Its full-length c DNA was 1246 bp in length with a 906 bp open reading frame encoding a protein of 301 aa.The molecular weight of the deduced protein was approximately 33.1 k D with an estimated PI of p H 6.26.Si185/333-1 had high identities(70%–86%) to most of Sp185/333.An extraordinary identity of 92% was found between Si185/333-1 and Sp185/333 C5 alpha(ABR22474).Moderate identities(63%–64%) were displayed between Si185/333-1 and He185/333.Si185/333-1 had similar structure to Sp185/333.A signal-peptide,a gly-rich region and a his-rich region were found in its secondary structure.RGD motif was found in gly-rich region at position 116–118aa.There was no transmembrane region in Si185/333-1.The element pattern of Si185/333-1 is different from any available pattern that identified in Sp185/333.Si185/333-1 clustered together with pattern C Sp185/333 in phylogenetic tree.The Si185/333-1 m RNA could be detected in tissues including peristomial membrane,coelomocytes,muscle of Aristotles lantern,gut and tube feet,with the highest expression level detected in peristomial membrane and a relatively low expression in ovary and testis.The temporal expression of Si185/333-1 in peristomial membrane and coelomocytes were up-regulated after bacterial,β-D-glucan and ds RNA challenges,reaching the maximum at 12 h post-stimulation.The up-regulation was more obvious in coelomocytes,and bacterial challenge triggered the highest response.These results proved that 185/333-1 gene was involved in the immune defense of S.intermedius,while more studies were necessary for its function in S.intermedius immunity.

Correlation analyses of covering and righting behaviors to fitness related traits of the sea urchin Glyptocidaris crenularis in different environmental conditions

Complex marine benthic environments shape a number of ecologically important behaviors in sea urchins, including covering and righting behaviors. The present study correlated covering and righting behaviors to a series of fi tness-related traits in sea urchins. Righting response time of Glyptocidaris crenularis was signifi cantly positively correlated with body size, but signifi cantly negatively correlated with food consumption. Covering behavior was not signifi cantly correlated with test diameter, test height or body weight, but covering response time was negatively correlated with body weight. A signifi cantly negative correlation was found between righting response time and covering response time. Glyptocidaris crenularis showed a signifi cantly positive correlation in covering response time with and without exposure to poured sand, but no signifi cance in covering ability(number of shells used to cover). The present study provides new insight into internal mechanisms and evolutionary drives of covering and righting behaviors of sea urchins.

Kinetics Study on Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange Catalyzed by Sea Urchin-Like Cu2O

Sea urchin-like cuprous oxide with hollow glass microsphere as core was prepared using sodium sulfite as the reducing agent and sodium acetate-acetic acid as buffer solution in copper sulfate solution. Methyl orange was selected as degradation target for photocatalytic experiments. The photocatalytic activities were investigated by visible spectro- photometer. Photocatalytic kinetics parameters were studied by the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model and Arrhenius formula. It was observed that the sea urchin-like morphology dramatically improved the photocatalytic activity of cuprous oxide. The photo-degradation belongs to the first-order reaction and the maximum degradation rate could reach 94.37%. The activation energy and pre-exponential factor are 41.18 KJ·mol-1 and 1.07 × 106, respectively. After seven times recycling, the sample still showed high photo-catalytic efficiency and stability.

Higher Dietary Arachidonic Acid Levels Improved the Growth Performance, Gonad Development, Nutritional Value, and Antioxidant Enzyme Activities of Adult Sea Urchin(Strongylocentrotus intermedius)

The gonads of sea urchins(Strongylocentrotus intermedius) are characterized by high levels of arachidonic acid(ARA, 20:4 n-6) and eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA, 20:5 n-3). However, to our knowledge, little information is available regarding the physiological response of adult sea urchins to dietary ARA. In the present study, four dietary feeds were formulated with graded ARA(0, 0.5%, 1%, and 2% dry diet). Each diet was randomly allocated to three cages during a 56-day feeding experiment. The results showed that the sea urchin weight gain rate(WGR) and the gonadosomatic index(GI) significantly increased as ARA was equal to or above 1.0% of dry diet(P < 0.05). The activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD), catalase(CAT), and total anti-oxidative capacity(T-AOC) were the highest in the coelomic fluid of sea urchins that were fed diets with 1% ARA. The total essential amino acid(TEAA) and its ratio to total non-essential amino acid(TNEAA) showed a similar tendency to WGR and GI as dietary ARA increased, and the highest TEAA and TEAA/TNEAA were observed in the gonads of sea urchins that were fed diets with 1% ARA. Levels of ARA and ARA/EPA of the gonads increased while n-3/n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid(PUFA) decreased with the increase of dietary ARA(P < 0.05). EPA in the gonads of experimental animals fed with formulated feeds showed no significant differences(P> 0.05), but was significantly lower than those fed with kelp(P < 0.05). These results suggested that relatively higher levels of ARA(1% dry diet) significantly promoted growth, gonad development, activities of antioxidant enzymes, as well as nutritional values(TEAA, TEAA/TNEAA, and PUFA) of adult S. intermedius.

Odor-Active Volatile Compounds from the Gonads of the Sea Urchin <i>Mesocentrotus nudus</i>in the Wild in Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku, Japan

Background and Aims: Mesocentrotus nudus is commercially harvested from shallow rocky bottoms in northern Japan. The gonads are targeted as an edible product. The objective of this study was to identify odor-active volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the gonads of adult M. nudus collected at a fishing ground in Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku, Japan. Methods and Results: Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis and gas chromatography-sniffing techniques identified 42 compounds categorized as alcohols, aldehydes, aromatic hydrocarbons, esters, halomethanes, hydrocarbons, ketones, sulfur-containing compounds, and nitrogen-containing compounds. GC-sniffing analysis characterized four compounds with preferable odors of sea urchin gonads;limonene, propyl acetate, acetone, dibromochloromethane. On the other hand, the analysis characterized three compounds with unpreferable odors;methyl mercaptane, dimethyl sulfide, and s-methyl thioacetate. Several VOCs from the gonads were derived from seaweeds, terrestrial plants, and fish flesh as food because M. nudus is omnivorous. Conclusion: This is the first study to identify VOCs from edible sea urchin gonads in the wild in Japan. These VOC data comprise a typical standard in order to evaluate a higher quality of sea urchin gonads.

Surgical Removal of Numerous Foreign Bodies from the Foot Caused by Sea Urchin Spines

Injury from sea urchin spines is not rare, especially during summer holidays in the sea side. Failure to remove these spines or inability to remove them completely can lead to long-term squeal of pain and impaired function. Treatment methods include alternative medicine, LASER and surgery. We describe the surgical removal of 102 sea urchin spines from the foot of a 36-year-old man. The wounds healed completely. Although, he initially complained of a mild discomfort on weight bearing, the symptoms disappeared 2 weeks later.

Carbon-coated Fe2O3 hollow sea urchin nanostructures as high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion battery

Fe2O3 has become a promising anode material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in light of its low cost, high theoretical capacity (1007 mA h g^−1) and abundant reserves on the earth. Nevertheless, the practical application of Fe2O3 as the anode material in LIBs is greatly hindered by several severe issues, such as drastic capacity falloff, short cyclic life and huge volume change during the charge/discharge process. To tackle these limitations, carbon-coated Fe2O3 (Fe2O3@MOFC) composites with a hollow sea urchin nanostructure were prepared by an effective and controllable morphology-inherited strategy. Metal-organic framework (MOF)-coated FeOOH (FeOOH@-MIL-100(Fe)) was applied as the precursor and self-sacrificial template. During annealing, the outer MOF layer protected the structure of inner Fe2O3 from collapsing and converted to a carbon coating layer in situ. When applied as anode materials in LIBs, Fe2O3@MOFC composites showed an initial discharge capacity of 1366.9 mA h g^−1 and a capacity preservation of 1551.3 mA h g^−1 after 200 cycles at a current density of 0.1 A g^−1. When increasing the current density to 1 A g^−1, a reversible and high capacity of 1208.6 mA h g^−1 was obtained. The enhanced electrochemical performance was attributed to the MOF-derived carbon coating layers and the unique hollow sea urchin nanostructures. They mitigated the effects of volume expansion, increased the lithium-ion mobility of electrode, and stabilized the as-formed solid electrolyte interphase films.

Energy Absorption in Functionally Graded Concrete Bioinspired by Sea Urchin Spines

Functionally Graded Concrete （FGC） is fabricated at the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design （ILEK） by using a layer-by-layer technique with two different technological procedures： casting and dry spraying. Functional gradations are developed from two reference mixtures with diametrically opposed characteristics in terms of density, porosity, compression strength and elasticity modulus. In this study the first mixture consists of Normal Density Concrete （NDC）, with density about 2160 kg·m^-3 while the second mixture helps to obtain a very lightweight concrete, with density about 830 kg·m^-3. The FGC specimens have layers with different alternating porosities and provide superior deformability capacity under bulk compression compared to NDC specimens. In addition, the FGC specimens experienced a graceful failure behaviour, absorbing high amounts of energy during extended compression paths. The porosity variation inside the layout of tested specimens is inspired by the internal structure of sea urchin spines of heterocentrotus mammillatus, a promising role model for energy absorption in biomimetic engineering.

Higher dietary protein increases growth performance,anti-oxidative enzymes activity and transcription of heat shock protein 70 in the juvenile sea urchin(Strongylocentrotus intermedius)under a heat stress

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary protein concentration(12%,18%,24%,30% and 36%)on the growth performance,activity of anti-oxidative enzymes and heat shock protein 70(HSP70)transcription in the sea urchin(Strongylocentrotus intermedius)under a heat stress.After 112 days of feeding trial the sea urchins were heat stressed(26
C)and the coelomic fluid and intestine sampled at time 0 and 15 min,2 h and 6 h.The results showed that an increase in dietary protein(12%-24%),significantly increased(p<0.05)the sea urchin weight gain rate(WGR).As dietary protein increased(from 18% to 36%),the gonadosomatic index(GI)of juvenile sea urchins also significantly increased(p<0.05)from 18.0%to 22.6%.Superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity increased with dietary protein increase(12%-30%)and the enzyme activity was significantly higher(p<0.05)in the coelomic fluid of sea urchins that were fed with 30% diets when compared to 12% and 36% protein diets at all time points after the heat stress.Catalase(CAT)activity showed a similar tendency with the increase in dietary protein concentration at time 0 and 15 min after the heat stress(p<0.05).Transcription of HSP70 in the intestine also showed a similar trend to SOD and was highest in the animals that were fed with 30% protein diets(p<0.05).Our results suggest that 24% protein diets could meet the requirements for growth performance but a 30% protein diet resulted in improved gonad development and anti-heat stress capacity in this sea urchin species.

Absence of postzygotic isolating mechanisms:evidence from experimental hybridization between two species of tropical sea urchins

Two reef margin species of tropical sea urchins,Echinometra sp.C(Ec) and Echinometra oblonga(Eo),occur sympatrically on Okinawa intertidal reefs in southern Japan.Hybridization between these species was examined through a series of cross-fertilization experiments.At limited sperm concentrations,where conspecific crosses reached near 100% fertilization,both heterospecific crosses showed high fertilization rates(81%-85%).The compatibility of the gametes demonstrated that if gamete recognition molecules are involved in fertilization of these species,they are not strongly species-specific.We found that conspecific crosses reached peak fertilization levels much faster than did heterospecific crosses,indicating the presence of a prezygotic barrier to hybridization in the gametes.Larval survival,metamorphosis,and juvenile and adult survival of hybrid groups were nearly identical to those of their parent species.Hybrids from crosses in both directions developed normally through larval stages to sexually mature adults,indicating that neither gametic incompatibility nor hybrid inviability appeared to maintain reproductive isolation between these species.In adults,Ec×Ec crosses gave the highest live weight,followed by Eo(ova)×Ec(sperm),Ec(ova)×Eo(sperm),and Eo×Eo.Other growth performance measures(viz.,test size,Aristotle's lantern length,and gonad index) of hybrid groups and their parental siblings showed the same trends.The phenotypic color patterns of the hybrids were closer to the maternal coloration,whereas spine length,tube-foot and gonad spicule characteristics,pedicellaria valve length,and gamete sizes showed intermediate features.Adult F 1 hybrids were completely fertile and displayed high fertilization success in F 1 backcrosses,eliminating the likelihood that hybrid sterility is a postzygotic mechanism of reproductive isolation.Conversely,intensive surveys failed to find hybrid individuals in the field,suggesting the lack or rarity of natural hybridization.This strongly suggests that reproductive isolation is achieved by prezygotic isolating mechanism(s).Of these mechanisms,habitat segregation,gamete competition,differences in spawning times,gametic incompatibility or other genetic and non-genetic factors appear to be important in maintaining the integrity of these species.

Growth Ring-dependent Fracture Toughness of Sea Urchin Spines Estimated by Boundary Effect Model

Although the fracture behavior of sea urchin spines has been extensively investigated,there is as yet a lack of quantitative estimation on the effect of growth rings on the fracture properties of sea urchin spines.In sea urchin spines,much denser pores present in growth rings rather than porous layers.The tensile strength and fracture toughness of sea urchin spine samples with different numbers of growth rings are measured by the Boundary Effect Model(BEM).The experimental results of single-edge notched three-point bending tests indicate that the BEM is an appropriate method to estimate the fracture toughness of the present porous sea urchin spines,and the number of growth rings plays an important role in the fracture properties of spines.Specifically,the tensile strength and fracture toughness of sea urchin spines can be significantly improved with the increase in the number of growth rings,and their fracture toughness can even reach a relatively high value compared with some other porous materials with an identical porosity.The present research findings are expected to provide a fundamental insight into the design of high-performance bionic materials with a highly porous structure.

Investigation on the Effect of the Multilayered Porous Structure of Sea Urchin Skeleton on Its Mechanical Behavior

In this paper,the effect of stereom structure on the mechanical behavior of the Sea Urchin Inorganic Skeleton(SUIS)has been studied.The stereom microstructure of both Anthocidaris crassispina and Tripnenstes gratilla was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM).Results indicate that a three-layer porous structure consisting of a growth,a support,and a resorption(GSR)layer is a common denominator for both species.The effect of GSR layer order on the mechanical behavior of the SUIS was studied by a finite element method.The results show that the GSR model could effectively reduce the maximum tensile stress on its meridional sutures under unidirectional pressure,hydrostatic pressure,and self-weight situation.For a fabricated three-layered ceramic test strips with different layer orders,the mechanical properties have a completely opposite performance compared with the compressive properties of the calculated SUIS-Iike models.This indicates that the GSR structure can effectively improve the mechanical properties of the SUIS,but it cannot be applied to bionics without considering its synergistic effect with the macro-structure of the SUIS.This is a typical example of bionic invalidation by single structure,where multi-level structure bionics may be an effective solution.

5%Ag掺杂对MNO_(2)纳米棒和海胆微球形貌及其甲苯氧化性能的影响

采用水热法制备了MNO_(2)纳米棒和海胆微球,并原位掺杂5%Ag制备了Mn-Ag复合氧化物,利用SEM、XRD、BET、Raman等表征技术对其结构进行表征,并考察不同催化剂对甲苯的去除性能。结果表明:(NH_(4))_(2)S_(2)O_(8)的掺入量会对MNO_(2)的形貌产生影响,当其掺入量为2.28 g时,形成MNO_(2)纳米棒,当其掺入量为6.84 g时,形成MNO_(2)海胆微球;MNO_(2)纳米棒掺杂5%的Ag后,形貌未发生变化,但当MNO_(2)海胆微球掺杂5%Ag时,表面的纳米线较MNO_(2)海胆微球有所增长,且出现了缠绕现象,形成了空心鸟巢状结构;5%Ag掺杂后,对MNO_(2)纳米棒和MNO_(2)海胆微球的晶型未产生影响,均为α-MNO_(2),但5%Ag-MNO_(2)纳米棒出现了Mn2O_(3)的衍射峰;MNO_(2)海胆微球较MNO_(2)纳米棒的比表面积、孔径和孔容均增大,且Ag的掺杂进一步提高了MNO_(2)海胆微球的比表面积、孔径和孔容;MNO_(2)海胆微球比MNO_(2)纳米棒具有更好的甲苯去除性能,且5%Ag掺杂后,MNO_(2)海胆微球对甲苯的去除性能达到最好。

用RAPD技术对5种经济海胆基因组DNA多态性的研究

利用随机扩增多态DNA技术对紫海胆(Anthocidariscrassispina)、海刺猬(Glyptocidariscrenularis)、马粪海胆(Hemicentrotuspulcherrimus)、光棘球海胆(Strongylocentrotusnudus)和中间球海胆(Strongylocentrotusintermedius)等我国最主要的5种经济类海胆基因组DNA的多态性进行初步研究。经20个随机引物扩增,共得到377条扩增片段,片段长度为200～1600bp。根据片段的共享度计算出平均遗传距离并采用UPGMA和NJ两种聚类分析方法进行处理得到系统树。从聚类图可得知长海胆科与疣海胆科有较近的亲缘关系,球海胆科的光棘球海胆与中间球海胆有较近的亲缘关系,其次是马粪海胆。本研究还讨论了RAPD技术在海胆的遗传学研究中的广阔应用前景以及从分子生物学方法上为海胆传统分类方法提供科学依据。

海胆黄多糖的分离、纯化及免疫活性测定

目的从光棘球海胆中分离纯化海胆黄多糖(polysaccharidefromtheeggsofStrongylocentrotusnu-dus,简称SEP),确定其纯度和分子量,并现察其免疫活性。方法海胆黄先经丙酮脱脂,根据正交实验和活性分析确定最佳热水提取条件,然后热水提取、去蛋白、醇沉得海胆黄粗多糖。粗多糖经超滤、DEAESepharoseFastFlow及SephacrylS-400柱层析纯化得多糖精品SEP。经高效液相色谱、聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳及纸层析鉴定其纯度。高效凝胶渗透色谱法(HPGPC)测定其分子量。体外脾淋巴细胞增殖实验测定其免疫活性。结果从海胆黄中分离纯化得到的均一多糖组分SEP,经检测其分子量为1950KD左右。脾淋巴细胞增殖实验表明SEP可显著促进脾淋巴细胞的增殖。结论从海胆黄中分离纯化得到的均一多糖组分SEP具有较强的体外免疫活性。