Characterisation of the substituent distribution in starch and cellulose derivatives Review Article

Derivatised polysaccharides are polymers from renewable sources of great importance in a whole range of different industries. However, only until recently have their characterisation been hampered by the lack of suitable instrumental methods or rather combination of suitable instrumentation. This review gives details on the state-of-the-art on polysaccharide analysis, especially focussing on starch and cellulose derivatives and the use of specific hydrolysing enzymes facilitating their analysis, reflecting recent work in the author’s respective laboratories.