Teichoic Acids and Poly Alkylene Phosphates

The teichoic acids, discovered by Baddiley around 1950, are important constituents of the cell walls of plants. They also occur in (Gram-positive) bacteria and in cell walls generally, and all are highly 

Phosphate groups, glycerol, ribitol and saccharide units are the basic components, and the simpler derivatives can be represented by the formulae 

The simplest parent compound, poly(glycerol phosphate) (R=H in (10.53a)) has been prepared by laboratory methods. Poly(ribitol phosphate) (R=R =H in Equation 10.53b) has been made by scheme (10.54). 

Possible cross-linking of the chain-like structures, which would give 2D or 3D polymers, has to be prevented by suitably blocking some of the -OH groups, or by employing phosphonates for the initial polymerisation as in 

The polymers (10.54) and (10.55) are closely related to the poly(alkylene phosphates) which can be made by ring-opening polymerisation (10.56) or by condensation of dialkyl phosphites (10.57). Molecular weights of over 10,000 have been achieved [38]. 

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