Esterification of polysaccharides catalyzed by naturally occurring α-hydroxy acids

J.A. AVILA RAMÍREZ; M.I. ERREA; M. V. TUPA; P. CERRUTTI; M. L. FORESTI; E. CAVALLO; M.L. HERRERA

Jena

Conferencia; 5th EPNOE International polysaccharide conference; 2017

red EPNOE

Esterification of polysaccharides is a well-kown route to broaden their applications. In the case of starch, partial esterification provides the polysaccharide with specific properties which allow its use as additive in the food industry (mainly acetylated starch), and as a tool for delivering specific short chain fatty acids to the colon (mainly propionylated and butyrylated starches), among others. On the other hand, in the field of composite materials, controlled esterification of highly hydrophilic cellulose nanofibers is of wide interest for improving their dispersibility/compatibility with hydrophobic polymeric matrices. Esterification of starch has been mainly performed in NaOH medium, whereas cellulose nanofibers esterification has been mainly catalized by H2SO4 and HClO4.