title: Bacterial polyesters containing branched poly(beta-hydroxyalkanoate) units.
abstract: Pseudomonas oleovorans was grown on mixtures of methyloctanoates with n-octanoate. Polymers were also obtained from organisms grown on pure 7-methyloctanoate, but not from pure 5- or 6-methyloctanoate. The polyesters obtained from 7-methyloctanoate and from its mixtures with n-octanoate contained units with the methyl branches in the pendant group, as did the copolymers from the mixtures of 5- and 6-methyloctanoate with n-octanoate. The methyl branched repeating units contained two diastereomers, and the 13C-n.m.r. spectra of these polymers indicated that the 5-methyloctanoate units had a higher content of one of the two isomers, but not in the 6-methyloctanoate units. The weight average molecular weights of the copolyesters produced were in the range of 220,000 to 410,000, with Mw/Mn ratios of 1.7 to 1.9.
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fritzsche
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Lenz
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Fuller
mesh_terms: D002210:Caprylates / Q000378:metabolism*; D006880:Hydroxy Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002210:Caprylates; D006880:Hydroxy Acids; D011108:Polymers