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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Plant Polymer Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #220150
Title: HRP-Mediated Synthesis of Starch-Polyacrylamide Graft Copolymers

Author
item Shogren, Randal
item Willett, Julious
item Biswas, Atanu

Submitted to: Carbohydrate Polymers
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2008
Publication Date: 1/5/2009
Citation: Shogren, R.L., Willett, J.L., Biswas, A. 2008. HRP-Mediated Synthesis of Starch-Polyacrylamide Graft Copolymers. Carbohydrate Polymers. 75(1):189-191.

Interpretive Summary: Modified starch-based polymers can be engineered for specific properties by combining starch with synthetic polymers through graft copolymerization. Polyacrylamide grafted starch have received a great deal of applications in areas such as superabsorbent paper-making additives, drag reduction and textile sizing. So far there are over a hundred papers and tens of patents issued using toxic inorganic catalysts to make the target copolymers. We discovered a process which enabled us to make the same by using a nature’s reagent, Horse radish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme. Our discovery will help the starch graft copolymers manufacturers to avoid the use of pollutant such as toxic inorganic catalysts.

Technical Abstract: Modified starch-based polymers can be engineered for specific properties by combining starch with synthetic polymers through graft copolymerization. Polyacrylamide grafted starch have received a great deal of applications in areas such as superabsorbent paper-making additives, drag reduction and textile sizing. So far there are over a hundred papers and tens of patents issued for graft copolymerization. All of these used oxidants such as ceric ammonium nitrate or ammonium persulfate as catalyst. We would like to report a process where we replaced the inorganic oxidants by a nature’s catalyst HRP enzyme. At room temperature and in water HRP/H2O2/2,4 pentanedione catalyzed free radical grafting of acrylamide onto starch gave starch-polyacrylamide graft copolymers with M. Wt in the range of 100-200K with good product recovery and a grafting efficiency of 33-65%. HRP is shown to be a viable alternative to conventional inorganic free radical catalysts. Starch-polyacrylamide graft copolymers was synthesized by the enzymatic oxidative polymerization of acrylamide and starch using HRP catalyst, H2O2 and pentadione in water and phosphate buffer. We discovered a process where we replaced the inorganic oxidants by a nature’s catalyst HRP enzyme. We have developed a enzyme catalyzed novel green pathway to starch-polyacrylamide graft copolymers. Our discovery will help the starch graft copolymers manufacturers to avoid the use of pollutant such as cerric ammonium nitrate.