Controlled curing of adhesive complex coacervates with reversible periodate carbohydrate complexes.

Periodate oxidation of carbohydrates with vicinal hydroxyl groups and aromatic ortho-dihydroxyphenyl groups has been employed extensively to initiate crosslinking or conjugation reactions in adhesive biomaterials. Periodate forms stable tridentate complexes with carbohydrates containing three appropriately configured hydroxyls, such as 1,2-O-isopropylidene-a-D-glucofuranose, that are not appreciably oxidized relative to carbohydrates with vicinal hydroxyls and ortho-dihydroxyphenyl groups. In the presence of 1,2-O-Isopropylidene-a-D-glucofuranose the rate of periodate oxidation of dihydroxy containing compounds is controlled by the rates of association and dissociation of the periodate-carbohydrate complex. By varying the ratio of 1,2-O-isopropylidene-a-D-glucofuranose to periodate the curing rate of adhesive complex coacervates was varied over a wide range.