Structural characteristics of some soluble and insoluble β-cyclodextrin polymers

Abstract

Several β-cyclodextrin polymers (βCDP) have been obtained by cross-linking β-cyclodextrin (βCD) with the reagent epichlorohydrin (EP). It is expected that these polymers are capable of retaining different organic molecules by adsorbing them on its network and also by forming inclusion complexes with βCDs. In this work, two soluble polymers containing 39% and 48% βCD and other insoluble ones with 65% and 74% βCD have been studied. The total amount of CD in the polymers could not be available for complexation. This parameter has been calculated by means of the decrease of colour intensity of phenolphthalein solutions when different amounts of βCDP were added. The insoluble polymer with 74% βCD appears to possess less CD available than that with 65% βCD, probably due to the higher cross-linking degree of the former. On the other hand, a higher availability of CD is found for the soluble polymer which contains 48% βCD. Moreover, the amount of glycerol monoether groups formed as a side effect during the cross-linking process has been determined and related to the epichlorohydrin content, structure and swelling properties of the polymers. It is concluded that, varying the synthesis conditions, it is possible to induce structural modifications in the hydrogel networks which can improve their practical applications.