Xylan nitric acid oxidation

D-xylose on hydrolysis with dilute nitric acid. Percival and Chanda7 isolated a xylan from the same plant. They found that the methylated xylan produced on hydrolysis 2-methyl-D-xylose, 2,3-dimethyl-D-xylose, 2,4-dimethyl-D-xylose and 2,3,4-trimethyl-D-xylose. From this and from the results of periodate oxidation, Percival and Chanda considered that the polysaccharide contains 1 — 3 and 1 —> 4 linkages with a non-reducing endgroup (yielding the 2,3,4-trimethyl-D-xylose) for every 20-21 D-xylose units. They considered that this xylan was not a mixture of 1 —> 3 and 1 —> 4 linked polysaccharides because careful fractionation of its diacetate and dimethyl ether failed to establish any polymer heterogeneity. Barry, Dillon, Hawkins and O Colla74 confirmed the conclusion of Percival and Chanda. 

---