Simple, rapid, and sensitive assay for the quantification of total polysaccharides to estimate extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in soil

Abstract Current methods for quantifying total polysaccharides in soil are expensive or require prolonged incubation of hazardous reagents at 100°C in glass vessels. We present a fast, sensitive, and inexpensive spectrophotometric assay quantifying polysaccharides in aqueous solution, featuring an instant reaction of room-temperature reagents using disposable tubes and cuvettes. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funder Information Declared National Science Foundation, https://ror.org/021nxhr62, 2009125 Copyright The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. This article is a US Government work. It is not subject to copyright under 17 USC 105 and is also made available for use under a CC0 license.