Polysaccharides natural polymers

As examples of natural polymers, we consider polysaccharides, proteins, and nucleic acids. Another important natural polymer, polyisoprene, will be considered in Sec. 1.6. 

Many years ago chitin was seen as a scarcely appeahng natural polymer due to the variety of origins, isolation treatments and impurities, but the works of several analytical chemists and the endeavor of an increasing number of companies have qualified chitins and chitosans for sophisticated applications in the biosciences. Chemistry today offers a range of finely characterized modified chitosans for use in the biomedical sciences. Moreover, surprising roles of these polysaccharides and related enzymes are being unexpectedly discovered [351]. 

Whereas conventional poly (amino acids) are probably best grouped together with proteins, polysaccharides, and other endogenous polymeric materials, the pseudopoly (amino acids) can no longer be regarded as "natural polymers." Rather, they are synthetic polymers derived from natural metabolites (e.g., a-L-amino acids) as monomers. In this sense, pseudopoly (amino acids) are similar to polylactic acid, which is also a synthetic polymer, derived exclusively from a natural metabolite. 

As discussed in the last 3 years, polysaccharides behave in solution under a worm like chain [26] the local stiffness of the chain is characterized by a persistance length (Ip) the larger Ip is, the larger the chain deviates from the gaussian behaviour in the usual molecular weight range of these natural polymers [27], This makes difficult to use the relations given in litterature for synthetic... 

In the course of studies on the physicochemical properties of natural polymers in aqueous solution, attention has been drawn to pectic acid, i.e. poly (a-D)galacturonic acid as a potential model of a rigid polysaccharide. 

Probably the most promising polymeric drug carrier system involves polysaccharide molecules. These are natural polymers and are often biodegradable to products that are useful to the host or easily eliminated by the host. Dextrans have been the most extensively used polysaccharide for macromolecular prodrug preparations (79). These materials are biocompatible and the in vivo fate is directly related to their molecular weight. Moreover these macromolecules can be easily targetted to the hepatocytes with D-mannose or L-fucose (20). 

Synthetic products, e.g., polyethylene oxides(104), polyacrylates, polyacrylamides, and polyetherglycols were in competition with natural polymers like starch, guar, cellulose derivatives, alignates, carrageenan, and locust bean gum. The basic physical and structural properties of the various polysaccharide thickeners have been compiled and reviewed by numerous authors and editors(105-109). 

Most of the supports so far studied are conventional in the field of catalysis. Some new kinds of support have emerged including mesostructured materials,193 dendrimers, organic-inorganic hybrids, and natural polymers such as polysaccharides or polyaminoacids. Nevertheless, at the moment, supported catalysts still suffer from relatively poor stability when compared to classical heterogeneous catalysts, and from limited activity when compared to homogeneous catalysts. The driving force for this research is thus to make up some of these deficits. 

Above we have shown the attractiveness of the so-called green nanocomposites, although the research on these materials can still be considered to be in an embryonic phase. It can be expected that diverse nano- or micro-particles of silica, silicates, LDHs and carbonates could be used as ecological and low cost nanofillers that can be assembled with polysaccharides and other biopolymers. The controlled modification of natural polymers can alter the nature of the interactions between components, affording new formulations that could lead to bioplastics with improved mechanical and barrier properties. 

Polysaccharides are hydrophilic natural polymers that can be degraded enzymatically. Block copolymers containing polysaccharide as a block were reviewed recently... 

Many polymers have been studied for their usefulness in producing pharmacologically active complexes with proteins or drugs. Synthetic and natural polymers such as polysaccharides, poly(L-lysine) and other poly(amino acids), poly(vinyl alcohols), polyvinylpyrrolidinones, poly(acrylic acid) derivatives, various polyurethanes, and polyphosphazenes have been coupled to with a diversity of substances to explore their properties (Duncan and Kopecek, 1984 Braatz et al., 1993). Copolymer preparations of two monomers also have been tried (Nathan et al., 1993). 

Starch is the major energy storage polysaccharide of cereal crops. It is a natural polymer of dextrose. Starch has two naturally occurring... 

Both synthetic and naturally occurring polymers have been used as CSPs. Figure 3.2 shows typical CSPs prepared from optically active polymers (1-18) 1-15 are totally synthetic polymers, including vinyl polymers (1-7), polyamides (8-12), polyurethanes (13), polyacetylene (14), and polysaccharide analogue (15). The CSPs 16-18 are based on natural polymers, proteins (16), and polysaccharides (17, 18). 

The precise stereogeometry of molecules is important in determining the physical properties of a material and is critical in determining the biological properties of materials. Most synthetic and nonspecific natural polymers are a mix of stereoshapes with numerous stereocenters along the polymer chain. For polypropylene, every other backbone carbon is most likely a stereocenter. Even polyethylene has stereochemical sites wherever there is branching. The imprecise structures of most natural nonspecific polymers such as the polyisoprenes and polysaccharides have stereocenters at each branch. 

We generally describe the structure of both synthetic and natural polymers in terms of four levels of structure primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. The primary structure describes the precise sequence of the individual atoms that compose the polymer chain. For polymers that have only an average structure, such as proteins, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids, a representative chain structure is often given. 

The present chapter deals with molecular characteristics of synthetic polymers. Numerous natural polymers such as the most polysaccharides can be tentatively incorporated into this group of macromolecular substances because their behavior in many aspects resembles that of the synthetic polymers and also because they are often chemically modified to adjust their utility properties. The typical example is cellulose, the most abundant organic polymer on earth. 

Biodegradable polymers, both synthetic and natural, have gained more attention as carriers because of their biocompatibility and biodegradability and therewith the low impact on the environment. Examples of biodegradable polymers are synthetic polymers, such as polyesters, poly(orfho-esters), polyanhydrides and polyphosphazenes, and natural polymers, like polysaccharides such as chitosan, hyaluronic acid and alginates. 

Gum acacia, a natural plant exudate polysaccharide, has historically been used as the wall material of choice. Due to fluctuations in availability and increasing costs of this natural polymer, alternate choices have been examined (9), Worth noting at this point is the 1.5% to 3% protein content associated with this polysaccharide (20). 

The natural polymers frequently used for the preparation of pharmaceutical gels include tragacanth, pectin, carrageenan, agar, and alginic acid, as well as semisynthetic polysaccharides such as methylcellulose, hydroxymethylcellulose, and carb-oxymethylcellulose. 

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