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Updated: Nov 24, 2025

Rapid One-step Enzymatic Synthesis and All-aqueous Purification of Trehalose Analogues
Published on: February 17, 2017
A one pot one step combined radical and ring-opening route for the dual functionalization of starch in aqueous medium
Julie Meimoun1, Vincent Wiatz2, René Saint-Loup2
1Univ. Lille, CNRS, Centrale Lille, Univ. Artois, UMR 8181 - UCCS - Unité De Catalyse Et Chimie Du Solide, F-59000, Lille, France.
Abstract:
Starch based materials are attractive bio-based alternative to fully synthetic polymers. Native starch has however limited thermoprocessability and properties and must be modified. In order to improve the properties of starch-graft-poly(butyl-acrylate-co-styrene) copolymers via a process as green as possible, we report herein a new method for the dual functionalization of the polysaccharide via a one pot one step reaction in aqueous medium combining free radical polymerizations and ring-opening chemistry. Poly(butyl acrylate) or poly(butyl acrylate-co-styrene) (ca. 60 000 g/mol) and oligo(ε-caprolactone) were grafted on starch with a grafting percentage up to 75 %. The copolymers show two glass transition temperatures: one around 55-60 °C related to starch and a second attributed to the grafted vinyl polymers, from -46 °C to 20 °C depending on butyl acrylate/styrene ratio. The resulting dual functionalized materials exhibit excellent mechanical properties, with elongation at break in the range 20-210 %, while single functionalized starch shows less than 5 %.
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