Crystalline Transformation of Chitosan from Hydrated to Anhydrous Polymorph Via Chitosan Monocarboxylic Acid Salts

ABSTRACT

Spontaneous removal of monocarboxylic (formic, acetic, propionic or butyric) acids accompanying dehydration of the corresponding chitosan salts was observed from X-ray fiber diffraction diagrams obtained during the storage of these salts for a given period of time. The first three salts were prepared by immersing a tendon chitosan (a hydrated crystal) in an aqueous solution of respective monocarboxylic acid and 2-propanol. The salts showed similar fiber patterns not only to one another but also to the “Eight-fold” polymorph of the original chitosan, indicating that they are Type II salts, hydrated crystals, where the backbone chitosan molecule takes up an eight-fold helical conformation. The temperature required for the salt formation depended on the hydrophobicity of the acid, e.g., the chitosan formic acid salt could be prepared at room temperature, whereas, formation of the propionic acid salt was carried out at 4 °C. All the acids spontaneously evaporated accompanied by dehydration during storage of the salts, resulting in formation of anhydrous crystalline chitosan. Removal of the monocarboxylic acids was accelerated by increasing the hydrophobicity of the acid: at 100% relative humidity approximately 3 months for the formic, 1 month for the acetic and 3 weeks for the propionic acid salts. In the case of butyric acid the anhydrous polymorph of chitosan was obtained immediately after the reaction, suggesting that the water removing action of this acid was too fast to detect a Type II salt by the present X-ray method. The anhydrous crystals of chitosan were irreversibly prepared by annealing a hydrated crystal in water at a high temperature, such as 240 °C, leading to a little loss of orientation and to thermal decomposition of the sample specimen to some extent. But it was found that, through Type II salts of monocarboxylic acids, the hydrated crystals of chitosan can be dehydrated even at room temperature without any loss of orientation and decomposition of the chitosan specimen.     

Systematic Estimates for Possible Regular Helix Models of Heteropolymeric Glucans,Elsinan and Lichenan,Using N-H Mapping Method

Regular helical structures of polysaccharides are most conveniently described by a set of the helix parameters; n for the number of chemical repeating units per turn and h in Å for the rise per unit along the helix axis. A two dimensional mapping of n-h values for possible helix models along with the potential energy surfaces allows one to estimate conformational accessibility of a given posaccharide.^1-3 Recently, we have adopted the method to study an acidic heteropolysaccharide⁴ and a branching glucan.⁵ These polysaccharides involve two or three sets of backbone glycosidic linkages (Φ-Ψ), each of which varies independently, and, therefore, enormous multidimensional spaces must be explored. Their n-h maps were calculated based on the low energy Φ-Ψ values derived from MM3^6-8-generated, relaxed-residue potential energy maps^{9, 10} of the component disaccharides. The present assessment of helix models for the two heteropolymeric glucans is achieved by calculating n-h maps in a similar fashion. These glucans are the two poly(disaccharide)s, poly[(1→3)-α-D-maltotriose] (elsinan) and poly[(1→3)-β-D-cellotriose] (lichenan). In addition to single-stranded helices, three types of mutiple helices; double-parallel, and double-antiparallel, and triple helices have also been examined.     

Synthesis of novel hyperbranched polymer through cationic ring‐opening multibranching polymerization of 2‐hydroxymethyloxetane

The cationic ring‐opening multibranching polymerization of 2‐hydroxymethyloxetane ( 1 ) as a novel latent AB₂‐type monomer was carried out using trifluoromethane sulfonic acid or trifluoroboron diethyl etherate by a slow‐monomer‐addition (SMA) method. The polymer yield of poly‐1 ranged from ca. 58–88%, which increase with the increasing monomer addition time on the SMA method. The absolute molecular weights (M_w,MALLS) and the polydispersities of poly‐1 were in the range of 8,000–43,500 and 1.45–4.53, respectively, which also increased with the increasing monomer addition time. The Mark‐Houwink‐Sakurada exponents α in 0.2 M NaNO₃ aq. were determined to be 0.02–0.25 for poly‐1 , indicating that poly‐1 has compact forms in the solution because of the highly branched structure. The degree of the branching value of poly‐1 , which was calculated by Frey's equation, ranged from ca. 0.50 to 0.58, which increased with the increasing monomer addition time. The steady shear flow of poly‐1 in aqueous solution exhibited a Newtonian behavior with steady shear viscosities independent of the shear rate. The results of the MALLS, NMR, and viscosity measurements indicated that poly‐1 is composed of a highly branched structure, i.e., the hyperbranched poly (2‐hydroxymethyloxetane). © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Glycoconjugated polymer. I. Synthesis and characterization of amphiphilic polystyrenes with glucose,maltose, and maltohexaose as hydrophilic segments

Glucosyl styrene ( 1a ), maltosyl styrene ( 1b ), and maltohexaosyl styrene ( 1c ) were prepared by the glycosylation of 4‐vinylbenzyl alcohol with the corresponding glycosyl trichloroacetimidates with boron trifluoride diethyl ether complex. The copolymerizations of 1a – 1c with styrene were carried out with 2,2′‐azobis(2‐methylpropionitrile) as an initiator in dry N,N‐dimethylformamide at 60 °C, and this was followed by deacetylation to produce amphiphilic polystyrenes with glucose ( 3a ), maltose ( 3b ), and maltohexaose ( 3c ) as hydrophilic segments. 3 showed various solubility characteristics that were dependent on the content of glucose residues, especially within a range of 20–50 wt %. The solubility characteristics of 3 , related to the copolymer composition, indicated that the hydrophilic property was remarkably improved with an increased number of glucose units, that is, in the order 3a < 3b ? 3c . The results described in this article provide useful information for the design of glycoconjugated architectures with desired amphiphilic properties. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 4061–4067, 2001     

Molecular simulation study with complex models of the carbohydrate binding module of Cel6A and the cellulose Iα crystal

A computer docking study was carried out on the (110) crystal surface of the cellulose Iα crystal model for the carbohydrate binding module (CBM) of cellobiohydrolase Cel6A, which is produced by the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei. Three-dimensional structures of the CBM were constructed by the homology modeling method using the Cel7A CBM, which is another cellobiohydrolase from T. reesei, as a template, and refined by molecular dynamics calculations in the solution state. Among the three models tested, those with three disulfide bonds were selected for a docking analysis. The binding free energy maps represented changes in non-covalent interactions and solvation free energies with respect to the CBM position. These indicated two minimum positions within the unit cell for both the parallel and antiparallel orientation modes of the CBM with respect to the cellulose fiber axis. Molecular dynamics calculations under an explicit solvent system were performed for the four complex models derived from the minimum positions of the binding free energy maps. The complex models with CBM in the parallel orientation had the lowest binding energies.     

Adsorption state and morphology of anthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid deposited from solution onto the atomically-smooth native oxide surface of Al(111) films studied by infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy.

The adsorption state and morphology of anthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid (AQ-2-COOH) deposited from acetone solutions (0.02 - 1.00 mg ml(-1)) onto atomically-smooth native oxide surfaces of Al(111) films were investigated by infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The atomically-smooth oxide surfaces were prepared by vacuum evaporation of Al on mica substrates at 350 degrees C, followed by oxidation in an oxygen-dc glow discharge at room temperature. It was found that AQ-2-COOH is adsorbed on the film surfaces in both the neutral and ionized state, where the amount of the neutral molecules increases with increasing concentration. This molecule is adsorbed as both a uniform nanometer-scale film, and as micrometer-sized particles with heights ranging from 10 to 200 nm above the film surface. The volumes of the particles of deposited AQ-2-COOH increased with increasing concentration. It is concluded that the particles are microcrystallites of neutral AQ-2-COOH and that the thin uniform film results from AQ-2-COOH anion formation on the film surfaces. A comparison of the results obtained by use of these surface analytical techniques clearly shows the features and advantages of these tools.     

Asymmetric orientation of toluene molecules at oil-silica interfaces

The interfacial structure of heptane and toluene at oil-silica interfaces has previously been studied by sum frequency generation [Z. Yang et al., J. Phys. Chem. C. 113, 20355 (2009)]. It was found that the toluene molecule is almost perpendicular to the silica surface with a tilt angle of about 25°. Here, we have investigated the structural properties of toluene and heptane at oil-silica interfaces using molecular dynamics simulations for two different surfaces: the oxygen-bridging (hydrophobic) and hydroxyl-terminated (hydrophilic) surfaces of quartz (silica). Based on the density profile, it was found that both heptane and toluene oscillate on silica surfaces, with heptane showing more oscillation peaks. Furthermore, the toluene molecules of the first layer were found to have an asymmetric distribution of orientations, with more CH(3) groups pointed away from the silica surface than towards the silica surface. These findings are generally consistent with previous experiments, and reveal enhanced molecular structures of liquids at oil-silica interfaces.