ARS | Publication request: HRP-Mediated Synthesis of Starch-Polyacrylamide Graft Copolymers

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: August 14, 2009
Publication Date: August 20, 2009
Citation: Shogren, R.L., Willett, J.L., Biswas, A. 2009. HRP-Mediated Synthesis of Starch-Polyacrylamide Graft Copolymers. Meeting Abstract. Poly 592.

Technical Abstract: Modified starch-based polymers can be engineered for specific properties by combining starch with synthetic polymers through graft copolymerization. Polyacrylamide grafted starches 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 several 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 with Horseradish peroxidase (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 were synthesized by the enzymatic oxidative polymerization of acrylamide and starch using HRP catalyst, H2O2 and pentadione in water and phosphate buffer. Our discovery will help the starch graft copolymer manufacturers to avoid the use of pollutant such as ceric ammonium nitrate.