CAL-B catalyzed synthesis of poly(butylene succinate)

POLY 671

Himanshu Azim1, Alex Dekhterman2, Zhaozhong Jiang, zjiang1@duke.poly.edu2, and Richard A. Gross2. (1) NSF I/UCRC Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules, Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences and Engineering, Polytechnic University, Six Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201, (2) Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences and Engineering, NSF I/UCR Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules, Polytechnic University, Six Metrotech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Lipase has been extensively used to convert aliphatic diacid and diol to biodegradable polyesters. In general, Lipase catalysts show higher polymerization activity towards long chain substrates. Thus far, efforts to copolymerize short chain (°Â four carbons) diacid and diol monomers have only led to the formation of low molecular weight products. We have recently succeeded in the synthesis of high molecular weight (Mw > 35,000) poly(butylenes succinate) by using diethyl succinate, instead of succinic acid, as comonomer to avoid substrate phase separation, and by carrying out the copolymerization reaction at °Ã 95¨¬C to prevent the product from precipitating out of the reaction solution. The details regarding the synthesis strategy will be reported.
 

Biocatalysis in Polymer Science
8:30 AM-11:45 AM, Thursday, 14 September 2006 San Francisco Marriott -- Salon 12/13, Oral

Division of Polymer Chemistry

The 232nd ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, September 10-14, 2006