In Depth Study on Solution-State Structure of Poly(lactic acid) by Vibrational Circular Dichroism
journal contribution
posted on 2014-08-12, 00:00 authored by Takahiro Hongen, Tohru Taniguchi, Shintaro Nomura, Jun-ichi Kadokawa, Kenji MondePolyesters are biodegradable analogues
of polypeptides, but their
biochemical applications have been hampered by the lack of a method
to analyze polyester conformation in a solution state. We have demonstrated
that vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy can conveniently
and accurately elucidate the conformation of polyesters through the
studies on poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA), PLLA-amylose complex,
and oligo(l-lactic acid). The analysis of VCD exciton couplet
of these molecules has clarified the stable left-handed helical structure
of PLLA, while density functional theory calculations of oligo(l-lactic acid) have revealed its detailed structural nature.
