Cationised O-acetyl galactoglucomannans: synthesis and characterisation

Water-soluble O-acetyl-galactoglucomannans (GGMs) can be obtained from Norway spruce by hot-water-extraction of the wood or as a side product by ultrafiltration of mechanical pulping waters. Cationic and amphiphilic polysaccharides and their derivatives are of interest for a number of applications and thus quaternary nitrogen moieties with cationic charge were grafted onto GGMs in the heterogeneous reaction to render a cationic polyelectrolyte. The degree of substitution was measured by elemental analysis of nitrogen, by quantitative (13)C NMR and interestingly also by polyelectrolyte titration and the results were congruent. NMR, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF-MS), and FT-IR analysis were used to characterise the product. THF or DMSO with water enhanced the reaction efficiency and decreased M(w) reduction in comparison to plain water as a reaction media. Cationised GGM was also successfully acetylated. The cationic derivatives of hemicelluloses can potentially be utilised as polyelectrolyte layers in packaging and pharmaceutical applications.