Although schizophyllan undergoes no gelation by itself in its aqueous solut
ion, the addition of sorbitol results in the formation of transparent gel a
t lower temperatures. The mechanism of the gel formation was discussed from
the structural analysis of schizophyllan in the aqueous solution with and
without sorbitol, based on the results of small-angle X-ray scattering. Her
e sorbitol was found to disentangle a part of triple-stranded helices and b
ridge the disentangled parts which serve as a crosslinking domain.