Hydrophobically associated networks - Physical Gels from Biological and Synthetic Polymers - page 164

Schematic structures of HMHEC (degree of substitution x = 0.02), HMEHEC (x = 0.0073),
HMdextran (x = 0.016) and HMalginate (x = 0.054). Reproduced from Nyström et al.( 2009 ) with
permission of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Figure 6.5

grafted on to the backbone of the alginate. Dextran ( Chapter 10 ) is a non-ionic microbial
polymer composed of 2

glucose units long, attached to the O-3 of the backbone units. In the present work, the
HMdextran typically contains 1.6 mol% of glycidyl butyl ether groups, as shown in
Figure 6.5 . In each case, the level of incorporation of the hydrophobic groups, and their
chemical nature, is limited in order to retain the water solubility of the polysaccharide. Then
the hydrophobic grafted groups tend to aggregate into micellar domains which behave as
labile junctions.

α -d-(1 6)-linked glucan chains with side chains that are mostly 1 -

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