Styrene/maleic anhydride copolymer,mw 10000

• CAS: 26762-29-8
• Catalog Number: ACM26762298-1
• Category: Polymer/Macromolecule
• Molecular Weight: 10000
• Melting Point: 120°C
• Density: 1.19
• Alpha Sort: Styrene/maleic anhydride copolymer

Case Study

Fast and Facile Autoclave-Mediated Hydrolysis of Styrene/Maleic Anhydride Copolymer

Kopf, Adrian H., et al. Chemistry and physics of lipids 218 (2019): 85-90.

This work described a facile and widely available process for the hydrolysis of the styrene/maleic anhydride (SMAnh) copolymer to its amphiphilic styrene/maleic acid (SMA) form with a standard autoclave. Hydrolysis by reflux is slow, requires specialized glassware, and involves multi-step operations that make it challenging to access and scale. With this process, researchers can more conveniently, rapidly, and reproducibly synthesize SMA copolymer, a versatile and increasingly popular material for membrane protein solubilization, than with the traditional reflux process.
Autoclave-Mediated Hydrolysis
The autoclave-mediated hydrolysis method described here provides a facile alternative that can be achieved with standard laboratory autoclaves. Using the autoclave set to 125 °C with sub-stoichiometric NaOH (0.6 equiv), reaction time is reduced dramatically, with improved throughput and consistent product quality. The method is also readily transferable to other maleic anhydride-containing copolymers. SMAnh copolymer was dispersed in an aqueous NaOH solution (10% w/v) and placed in the autoclave at 125 °C for 15-minute cycles. After hydrolysis was complete, the SMA product was precipitated with HCl, washed, and dried. pH was tracked during the process, and the product yield was determined.
Key Results
The autoclave method completed hydrolysis in 30-45 minutes-significantly faster than the 3-hour reflux process. Using 0.6 equivalents of NaOH prevented excessive alkalinity and simplified recovery. The resulting SMA copolymer demonstrated full functionality in membrane solubilization applications and compatibility with commercial SMAnh products.

Cellulase Immobilization on Styrene/Maleic Anhydride Copolymer Nanoparticles for Enhanced pH Stability

Wang, Yindian, et al. Chemical Engineering Journal 336 (2018): 152-159.

This work showed styrene/maleic anhydride (SMA) copolymer nanoparticles can be used as a novel carrier for cellulase immobilization. The SMA based nanoparticles allow for high efficiency binding of the enzyme and an increase in pH stability and reusability to levels required for industrial biocatalysis.
Crosslinked styrene/maleic anhydride copolymer nanoparticles (SMN) were produced via a stabilizer-free precipitation polymerization approach. The anhydride groups present on SMN nanoparticles allows direct covalent binding to cellulase under mild conditions. The approach provides a simple and effective immobilization platform.
Synthesis Methods
MAH, styrene, DVB (crosslinker), and AIBN (initiator) were dissolved in isopentyl acetate and polymerized at 75°C under nitrogen. Particles were washed and dried under vacuum. For cellulase immobilization, SMN was dispersed in PBS buffer (pH 5.0-8.0), mixed with cellulase, and stirred at room temperature. Unbound enzyme was removed via centrifugation, and remaining anhydride groups were blocked with Tris buffer.
Key Results
· High Binding Capacity: Optimal enzyme loading reached 167 mg cellulase per gram of SMN.
· Improved pH Stability: Immobilized cellulase retained 80% activity at pH 8.0, compared to only 14% for free cellulase. The optimum pH shifted to 5.0 after immobilization.
· Excellent Reusability: The immobilized enzyme maintained nearly 100% activity after 6 cycles and 80% activity after 10 cycles.
· Temperature Stability: Immobilization did not negatively impact activity across 30-80°C.