No abstract

In this study, we found that hierarchically controlled assemblies from amylose analog aminopolysaccharides occurred by reductive amination to obtain nanoparticles, microaggregates, and macrohydrogels depending on reaction conditions. The polysaccharide substrate composed of α(1→4)‐linked glucosamine residues was synthesized by thermostable phosphorylase (from Aquifex aeolicus VF5)–catalyzed enzymatic polymerization of α‐d‐glucosamine 1‐phosphate according to the reaction manner reported in our previous study. The reductive amination of the produced polysaccharide was carried out in the presence of NaBH3CN as reductant in 0.1 mol/L acetic acid aq. at 60 °C for 1 h. When lower feed ratios of reductant to the reducing end of the substrate were employed for the reaction, nanoparticles were obtained. With increasing feed ratios of reductant, more α(1→4)‐GlcNn molecules assembled to further form water‐insoluble microaggregates and macrohydrogels. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 45890.

Here, we investigated the chemoenzymatic synthesis of α(1→4)-linked amphoteric block polysaccharides. Amylouronic acid as an acidic block was first synthesized by 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl-mediated oxidation of a water-soluble amylose (chemical reaction). A short maltooligosaccharide chain, serving as an initiating site for the following enzymatic polymerization, was then introduced at the nonreducing end of the product by thermostable α-glucan phosphorylase-catalyzed enzymatic oligomerization of α-d-glucose 1-phosphate. Finally, thermostable α-glucan phosphorylase-catalyzed enzymatic polymerization of α-d-glucosamine 1-phosphate from the produced primer provided a basic block at the nonreducing end, leading to the desired amphoteric block polysaccharides. The structures of the products at each step were determined by (1)H NMR analysis. Furthermore, amphoteric products exhibited specific inherent isoelectric points (pIs). When the pH-responsive properties in aqueous solutions were evaluated using a divalent acid and base, similar hierarchical assembling/disassembling processes were observed by shifting the pH values from the pI to both the acidic and basic pH.