Enzyme-Catalyzed Modifications of Polysaccharides and Poly(ethylene glycol).docVIP

Polymers 2012, 4, 1311-1330; doi:10.3390/polym4021311 OPEN ACCESS polymers ISSN 2073-4360 /journal/polymers Review Enzyme-Catalyzed Modifications of Polysaccharides and Poly(ethylene glycol) H. N. Cheng 1,* and Qu-Ming Gu 2 1 Southern Regional Research Center, USDA Agricultural Research Service, 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70124, USA 2 Ashland Research Center, 500 Hercules Road, Wilmington, DE 19808, USA; E-Mail: qgu@ * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: hn.cheng@; Tel.: +1-504-286-4450; Fax: +1-504-286-4367. Received: 24 April 2012; in revised form: 12 June 2012 / Accepted: 14 June 2012 / Published: 21 June 2012 Abstract: Polysaccharides are used extensively in various industrial applications, such as food, adhesives, coatings, construction, paper, pharmaceuticals, and personal care. Many polysaccharide structures need to be modified in order to improve their end-use properties; this is mostly done through chemical reactions. In the past 20 years many enzyme-catalyzed modifications have been developed to supplement chemical derivatization methods. Typical reactions include enzymatic oxidation, ester formation, amidation, glycosylation, and molecular weight reduction. These reactions are reviewed in this paper, with emphasis placed on the work done by the authors. The polymers covered in this review include cellulosic derivatives, starch, guar, pectin, and poly(ethylene glycol). Keywords: biocatalysis; carbohydrates; cellulosic derivatives; enzyme; guar; modification; pectin; poly(ethylene glycol); polysaccharides; starch 1. Introduction Polysaccharides are found in most agricultural products and residues. In addition to being major food items, polysaccharides have been used extensively for their functional properties, such as thickeners, gelling agents, stabilizers, interfacial agents, flocculants and encapsulants, in such applications as food, adhesives, co