No Catalyst Added Hydrogen Peroxide Oxidation Of Dextran: An Environmentally Friendly Route To Multifunctional Polymers

The paper demonstrates a "greener" oxidation of dextran polymer of various molecular masses, the component of many industrially and pharmaceutically important materials, by aqueous H2O2 in a no catalyst added setting that produced a multifunctional oxidized dextran. Specifically, on the top of common functional groups (hydroxo, carbonyl, and carboxylic acids), the freshly peroxide oxidized dextran had also a significant number of peroxo-groups, which endowed the polymer with significant cytotoxic properties, as demonstrated on a larynx carcinoma cell line. We also have shown that the peroxo-groups could be easily removed in an alkaline media to yield nontoxic oxidized dextran polymers.