Biodegradable Polysaccharide Carboxymethylation

Carboxymethylation of Polysaccharides

It is assumed that the bioactivities and physicochemical properties of polysaccharides are directly or indirectly regulated by their structures. Chemical modification is the best and most widely used method to improve the poor water solubility and low biological activity of natural polysaccharides. The development of novel polysaccharide derivatives by chemical modification is a hot research topic. Carboxymethylation is the most commonly used chemical modification approach to improve the water solubility of polysaccharides and their biological activities.

Carboxymethylation refers to the substitution of one or several hydroxyl groups on the monosaccharide molecules in the polysaccharide macromolecule chain by carboxymethyl groups to form a class of anionic polysaccharide derivatives with complex chemical structures, diverse biological activities, and distinctive conformations. It has been shown that many polysaccharides with no or only weak antiviral, antitumor, or antioxidant activities have been modified by carboxymethylation, and their biological activities have been significantly enhanced. Carboxymethylation modification of polysaccharides has become an important direction in the modification of polysaccharide molecules and has become the focus of attention.

Fig.1 Carboxymethylation of polysaccharide. R=CH₂COOH or H, n=number of repeating units. (Chakka & Zhou, 2020)

Biodegradable Polysaccharide Carboxymethylation Services at CD BioGlyco

To meet the broad scientific needs of our clients in the development of Carbohydrate-based Biodegradable Materials, we offer our clients biodegradable polysaccharide carboxymethylation services to generate carboxymethylated polysaccharides with desirable and effective activity. Our specialized synthesis and characterization services help to accelerate the expansion of polysaccharide applications in the biomedical field. The services we provide to our clients include but are not limited to:

• Carboxymethylation of polysaccharides
  Typically, we offer carboxymethylation reactions based on Williamson ether synthesis, where 1⁰ and/or 2⁰ alcohol groups of polysaccharides can be etherified with carboxymethyl groups. The reaction is carried out in two main steps. The polysaccharide is activated with an aqueous NaOH in alcohol as the slurry medium. Then, a nucleophilic substitution reaction with sodium monochloracetate (SMCA) is carried out.
  We offer our clients a wide range of services for the carboxymethylation of polysaccharides, such as the carboxymethylation of xylan, prululan, glucomannan, agarose, chitosan, galactoglucomannan, and the biotechnologically produced α1,3-glucan.
• Degree of substitution (DS) analysis and characterization of polysaccharide derivatives
  We control the reaction parameters such as reagent concentration, time, solvent, and temperature to optimize the yield and DS of the carboxymethylation reaction according to the customer's needs and measure the DS by various methods, such as potentiometric titration. We offer FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy to characterize the structure of the obtained carboxymethylation derivatives.
• Evaluation of the solubility of the carboxymethylated products

CD BioGlyco is well-positioned to provide Biodegradable Polysaccharide Derivatization services to improve the water solubility and biological activity of polysaccharides through carboxymethylation. Our extensive expertise in chemical synthesis and structural characterization helps to accelerate the development of novel functional bio-based polymers.

If you are interested in our business, please feel free to contact us for more details.