Polysaccharides constitute an enormous, renewable, benign, diverse set of resources for society. However, to date they have been poorly exploited, with only cellulose commonly used to prepare useful derivatives of commerce, and only a few polysaccharides being harvested and purified from nature for use as materials or as raw materials for synthesis. One important reason for this neglect has been the low reactivity of polysaccharide functional groups, due to poor solubility of the polymer, restricted approach angles, and low mobility. This low reactivity necessitates harsh conditions for modification, which of course are poorly conducive to selectivity.<br/><br/>We will discuss advances by our laboratory to develop new approaches to selectively functionalized polysaccharides. These approaches are chemo- and often regioselective, and provide valuable functionality that may greatly enhance the value and utility of the polysaccharide. They are flexible with regard to polysaccharide substrate, and frequently with regard to which functional group can be appended. They greatly extend the range of functional, high-performance materials that are accessible in an efficient manner from natural, sustainable polysaccharides, thereby expanding the potential of these diverse and ecofriendly materials.

Highly selective polysaccharide modification

255th National Meeting (2018)

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