CHEMICAL AND ENZYMATIC-SYNTHESIS OF POLYMER CONTAINING REDUCING SUGARBRANCHES

We are investigating biodegradable plastics by the utilization of natu ral polymer materials. Development of new materials derived from mono- , di-, and oligo-saccharide, which are constituents of polysaccharide, leads to the effective use of the earths resources. In this experimen t, enzymatic synthesis of polymerizable sugar esters and their chemica l polymerization reactions were examined. Polymerizable sugar ester co uld be obtained in high yield catalyzed by Bacillus protease in N,N-di methylformamide (DMF) which is superior in sugar solubility to other o rganic solvents. By using ate-initiators, the polymerization reaction was carried out in DMF to give the polymer. Both the polymer and the e ster monomer have reducing activity derived from reducing sugar moiety .