Polysaccharide esters (Cellulose and starch) are among the first polymeric materials applied commercially. The way of producing these technically relevant derivatives, mainly the carboxylic acid esters of C2 to C4 acids, have not been changed significantly during their history of manufacture. The investigation of new acylation methods and strategies of analysis was revived during the last decade by the search for tailored, biocompatible, material for specific fields of application, e.g., biotechnology, sensor technique and medicine. Unconventional solvents were developed for completely homo-geneous acylation reaction applying state of the art techniques of modern organic chemistry for polysaccharide modification. This book will provide a first comprehensive summary of acylation methods in a very practical manner.

01 Introduction and Objectives

02 Structure of Polysaccharides
03 Analysis of Polysaccharide Structures
04 Esters of Carboxylic Acids Conventional Methods
05 New Paths for the Introduction of Organic Ester Moieties
06 Sulphonic Acid Esters
07 Inorganic Polysaccharide Esters
08 Structure Analysis of Polysaccharide Esters
09 Polysaccharide Esters with Defined Functionalisation Pattern
10 Selected Examples of New Applications
11 Outlook
12 Experimental Protocols