This review considers the chemical and biotechnological synthesis of acids that are obtained by direct oxidation of mono- or oligosaccharide, referred to as sugar acids. It focuses on sugar acids which can be readily derived from plant biomass sources and their current and future applications. The three main classes of sugar acids are aldonic, aldaric and uronic acids. Interest in organic acids derived from sugars has recently increased, as part of the interest to develop biorefineries which produce not only biofuels, but also chemicals to replace those currently derived from petroleum. More than half of the most desirable biologically produced platform chemicals are organic acids. Currently, the only sugar acid with high commercial production is d-gluconic acid. However, other sugar acids such as d-glucaric and meso-galactaric acids are being produced at a lower scale. The sugar acids have application as sequestering agents and binders, corrosion inhibitors, biodegradable chelators for pharmaceuticals and pH regulators. There is also considerable interest in the use of these molecules in the production of synthetic polymers, including polyamides, polyesters and hydrogels. Further development of these sugar acids will lead to higher volume production of the appropriate sugar acids and will help support the next generation of biorefineries.

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The demand for biobased barrier packaging alternatives is constantly growing. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based polymers are one of the most extensively studied biomass-derived synthetic polymers; however, they typically lack water-barrier properties. We synthesized a copolymer of D,L-lactic acid, 1,4-butanediol, and itaconic acid [poly(D,L-lactic acid-1,4-butanediol-itaconic acid) (PLAB-DIA)] via bulk polycondensation. The radical crosslinking reactions of the synthesized polymer were investigated with bulk crosslinking trials to find a formulation that was suitable for a rapidly crosslinkable barrier coating. The crosslinking efficiency was tested with methacrylate and acrylate crosslinkers together with peroxide radical initiators. Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (numberaverage molecular weight 5 250 g/mol) together with dilauroyl peroxide proved to be the best crosslinker-initiator combination. An aqueous dispersion of PLABDIA was prepared with a thermomechanical method and applied to commercial boxboard on a pilotscale line coater. With a coating weight of 10 g/m 2 , a water vapor transmission rate of 22.8 g/m 2 d was achieved, and this coating outperformed commercial extruded PLA coatings. The samples also showed very good grease resistance and would, therefore, be a good solution for the packaging of dry and fatty goods.