PYROLYSIS OF LINEAR AND CYCLIC OLIGOSACCH ARIDES USING A CURIE-POINT PYROLYZER

A Curie-point pyrolyzer directly coupled to a capillary gas chromatogr aph was applied to analyze the pyrolytic behavior of a series of linea r maltose-oligomers with different degrees of polymerization and a ser ies of cyclic dextrins (alpha-cyclodextrin, beta-cyclodextrin, gamma-c yclodextrin). In order to characterize the cleavage process of these c ompounds, simultaneous pyrolysis and methylation (SPM) was applied on the same sample in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide in me thanol. A characteristic difference was found between pyrograms of cyc lic and linear oligosaccharides at the same pyrolysis temperature (423 degrees C). Some new peaks detected by SPM on the pyrogram of a-cyclo dextrin were assigned by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectoromet ry. In order to compare with those peaks, methyl cellulose and 2,3,6-t ri-O-methyl-beta-cyclodextrin were used as the reference materials.