title: Chiral poly(beta-hydroxyalkanoates): an adaptable helix influenced by the alkane side-chain.
abstract: Bacterial copolyesters of poly(beta-hydroxyalkanoates) (PHA) with average side-chain lengths between C5 and C7 crystallize as a 21 helix in an orthorhombic lattice with two molecules per unit cell. The fibre repeat, or c dimension, is 4.55 A on average, compared with 5.96 and 5.56 A for poly(beta-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly(beta-hydroxyvalerate) (PHV), respectively. This collapse of the c dimension while maintaining the 21 helical symmetry may be thought of as crystallization driven by side-chain packing influences. This class of PHA with homologous hydrocarbon side-chains must form ordered sheets with the extended alkane branches in polyethylene-like domains. The melting point, glass transition temperature and fibre repeat change regularly as a function of average number of side-chain carbons for the whole family of PHA. X-ray diffraction of a melt-crystallized PHA indicated a maximum crystallinity of about 25%, achieved only after several hours at room temperature. Compared with P(HB-co-HV) polyesters, the stress-strain curves of PHA polyesters studied are typical of elastomers. 13C-n.m.r. spectra and relaxation times of the bulk phase amorphous regions of these polymers demonstrate the high degree of motional freedom of the side-chains and the significantly slower motion for the backbone carbons. 13C n.m.r. was also used to estimate the percentage crystallinity which is in agreement with the X-ray diffraction results. Modelling and conformational analysis of single chains using the virtual bond approach lead to two possible models for the crystalline helix: 'herringbone' versus 'comb-like'.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Marchessault
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Monasterios
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Morin
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Sundararajan
mesh_terms: D000473:Alkanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D003460:Crystallization; D006880:Hydroxy Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D000473:Alkanes; D006880:Hydroxy Acids; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers