Alkaline degradation kinetics and CE-separation of cello- and xylooligomers. Part I Original Research Article

The degradation kinetics of cello- and xylooligomers under alkaline conditions has been studied, and kinetic order, kinetic rate constants as well as activation parameters (EA, ΔE#, ΔS#) for the different oligomers have been determined. The results were corroborated by a mathematical model of the degradation kinetics. A reliable and convenient method for the separation and simultaneous quantification of cello- and xylooligomers, based on capillary electrophoresis (CE) with pre-column derivatization, has been established. p-Aminobenzonitrile was used as the UV tag, and 550 mM borate buffer containing hexadimethrine bromide was employed as the running electrolyte.