Abstract
This paper reports the oxidation of inulin using varying ratios of sodium periodate and the characterization of the inulin polyaldehyde. The physicochemical properties of the inulin polyaldehyde (oxidized inulin) were characterized using different techniques including 1D NMR spectroscopy, 13C Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The aldehyde peak was not very visible in the FTIR, because the aldehyde functional group exists in a masked form (hemiacetal). The thermal stability of the oxidized inulin decreased with the increasing oxidation degree. The smooth spherical shape of raw inulin was destructed due to the oxidation, as confirmed by the SEM result. The 1HNMR results show some new peaks from 4.8 to 5.0 as well as around 5.63 ppm. However, no aldehyde peak was found around 9.7 ppm. This can be attributed to the hemiacetal. The reaction of oxidized inulin with tert-butyl carbazate produced a carbazone conjugate. There was clear evidence of decreased peak intensity for the proton belonging to the hemiacetal group. This clearly shows that not all of the hemiacetal group can be reverted by carbazate. In conclusion, this work provides vital information as regards changes in the physicochemical properties of the oxidized inulin, which has direct implications when considering the further utilization of this biomaterial.
Highlights
Inulin is a natural linear polysaccharide obtained from plants, edible fruits, and vegetables, as well as cereals such as chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke, banana, leeks, and garlic [1,2]
We aimed to investigate how this oxidation will alter the physicochemical properties of inulin, which is highly important for formulation scientists when designing a drug delivery system where oxidized inulin will be used as raw or intermediate materials
Available evidence suggests that these aldehyde functional groups can react with the hydroxyl group within and around the oxidized inulin to form either intra or inter hemiacetal groups [43,49]
Summary
Inulin is a natural linear polysaccharide obtained from plants, edible fruits, and vegetables, as well as cereals such as chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke, banana, leeks, and garlic [1,2]. The nutritional benefit of inulin as dietary fibers and probiotics makes this polysaccharide an important part of human diets, in America and Europe [1]. The fact that inulin glycosidic bonds are indigestible to humans makes them good candidates for dietary fiber with prebiotic properties [1,18,19,20,21,22,23,24]. Inulin is gaining attention from the biotechnology industries because it is a non-toxic, biodegradable, compatible, cheap, and versatile substance with diverse
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