Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 5, 2026

Preparation of Thermoresponsive Nanostructured Surfaces for Tissue Engineering
Published on: March 1, 2016
Synthesis and properties of thermoplastic starch laurates
1Institute for Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Center of Excellence for Polysaccharide Research, Humboldtstraße 10, D-07743, Jena, Germany.
Abstract:
Maize starch was allowed to react homogeneously in N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc)/LiCl with lauric acid activated with 4-toluenesulfonyl chloride, N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide/4-(1-pyrrolidinyl)pyridine, 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole, and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) combined with oxalyl chloride. Characterization of the products by means of 13C NMR spectroscopy revealed different substitution patterns depending on the activation agent. The activation of lauric acid with DMF in combination with oxalyl chloride gave starch laurates of highest degree of substitution (DS), yield and reaction efficiency. The melting temperatures and the solubility of the thermoplastic starch laurates were found to depend on the DS, the substitution pattern, and on the molar mass of the starch esters.
Related Concept Videos
Polymer Classification: Stereospecificity
Types of Step-Growth Polymers: Polyesters
Polyesters are commonly prepared from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol; the crude product is known as poly(ethylene terephthalate) or PET. However, polyesters are synthesized industrially by transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol at 150 °C. The two reactants and the polymer...
Polymer Classification: Architecture
Polymer Classification: Crystallinity
Crystalline domains are the regions where polymer chains are aligned in an orderly manner and held together in proximity by intermolecular forces. For example, chains in the crystalline domains of polyethylene and nylon are bound together by van der Waals...
Chemistry of Carbohydrates
Molecular Weight of Step-Growth Polymers
As the step-growth polymerization involves step-wise condensation of monomers, the molecular weight also builds up eventually. Consequently, high molecular weight polymers are obtained at the late stages of the polymerization, where 99% of monomers have been consumed.
The extent of the...

