Polysaccharide derivatives research

In 1959 Dodge s thesis under the supervision of Metzner was published at the same time as Shaver s findings under the supervision of Merrill. Both noticed unusually low friction factors for certain non-Newtonian solutions like those of sodium carboxy-methylcellulose in water. At around the same time, industrial researchers made similar observations with certain additives, the most prominent being guar gum, which is a polysaccharide derived from a plant. The gums were used to suspend sand in the sand-water mixtures utilized in oil-well fracturing operations. 

The glycopolymers consist of a large family of polysaccharides derived from animals, plants, and microorganisms (Table 4). Due to the diversity of their chemical stmctures as wdl as physical and biological properties, glycopolymers have found a variety of applications in biomedidne, pharmaceutical research, and other industrial domains. 

Yoshii, R, Zhao, L., Wach, R. A., Nagasawa, N., Mitomo, H., Kume, T. 2003. Hydrogels of polysaccharide derivatives crossliiiked with irradiation at paste-like condition. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 208 320-324. 

Environmental requirements are assuming great importance, since there is an increased interest in the industrial use of renewable resources such as starch and chitin. Considerable efforts are now being made in the research and development of polysaccharide derivatives as the basic materials for new applications. In particular, the increasing cost of conventional adsorbents undoubtedly makes chitin and chitosan-based materials one of the most attractive biosorbent for wastewater treatment. Chitin and chitosan biopolymers have demonstrated outstanding removal capabilities for certain pollutants such as dyes and metal ions as compared to other low-cost sorbents and commercial-activated carbons. Biopolymer adsorbents are efficient and can be used for the decontamination of effluents (removal of pollutants) and for separation processes (recovery of valuable metals). 

Xanthan Gum. As a result of a project to transform agriculturally derived products into industrially usefiil products by microbial action, the Northern Regional Research Laboratories of the USDA showed that the bacterium TCanthomonas campestris - noduces a polysaccharide with industrially usefiil properties (77). Extensive research was carried out on this interesting polysaccharide in several industrial laboratories during the eady 1960s, culminating in commercial production in 1964. 

In tandem with his studies of polysaccharides, Stacey had a research group investigating the chemistry of the unusual sugars found as components of carbohydrate macromolecules. In this context, derivatives of simple sugars, di- and trisaccharides, uronic acids, deoxy sugars, amino sugars, sugar sulfates, and phosphates were studied. 

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