Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of disaccharide-branched copolymers with high molecular weight

Glycoconjugate polymers containing lactose or sucrose branches with high molecular weight were synthesized by radical polymerization from enzymatically prepared monomers, 6II-O-vinylhexanedioyl-lactose (VHL) and 1Fru-O-vinylhexanedioyl-sucrose (VHS). Lactose and sucrose were submitted to transesterification with divinyl hexanedioate in anhydrous pyridine catalyzed by an alkaline protease from Bacillus subtilis at 50 °C. VHL and VHS were obtained respectively without any blocking/deblocking steps. Homopolymer of vinyl sugar esters and copolymers of acrylic acid or acrylamide were prepared with Fe2+/K2S2O8/H2O2 as initiator. The resultant polymer was characterized by FTIR, NMR spectroscopy and GPC. The biodegradation of the glycoconjugate polymer was investigated using enzymatic method in aqueous buffer, and results showed that the polymers were biodegradable.