Determination of the degree of derivatization of acryloylated polysaccharides by Fourier transform proton NMR spectroscopy.

Dextran, glycogen, hydroxyethyl starch, and maltodextrin were derivatized with acrylic acid glycidyl ester at alkaline pH. The degree of derivatization was determined by water-elimination Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and compared with a bromination method. The signals from the anomeric protons of the glucose residues were used as an internal standard and the degree of derivatization was obtained from the relation between the integrated signals from the acrylic and anomeric protons. The NMR technique is shown to be more precise and convenient for the determination of acryloyl groups than the bromination method used.