Degree of acetylation of heteropolysaccharides

The acetyl groups in polysaccharides and glycoproteins have been determined using 4 N HCl at 120 °C for acid hydrolysis. Acetic acid and hexosamine were determined by high-performance cation-exchange chromatography with UV detection and high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperomeric detection, respectively. The method compares well with other procedures and shows an additional advantage of being able to analyze for hexosamine in the same hydrolyzate, thus permitting the degree of acetylation of hexosamine-containing biopolymers to be determined directly without correction for additional components in the material of interest.