Graft polymerization of Xanthan by malic anhydride and study the kinetics and thermal stability by using TGA-DSC-DTA at elevated temperatures

A naturally occurring polysaccharide with a high molecular weight, xanthan gum is made by the bacteria xanthomas campest, which is present on cabbage plants. In most organic solvents, xanthan gum powder is insoluble, but it flows freely and has a white to cream hue when dissolved in hot or cold water. In contrast to other polysaccharide solutions, xanthan gum solutions exhibit a high degree of viscosity even at low concentrations. Its use as a thickener and stabilizer is enhanced by this characteristic. When it comes to water soluble polysaccharides, xanthan gum is preferred because of its heat stability. Xanthan gum, which is also utilized as a gelling, stabilizing, suspending, and viscosity-increasing agent, has been thoroughly studied as a potential polymeric material in several floating drug delivery technologies. Grafting is a useful method for changing the characteristics of both natural and manufactured polymers. The carbohydrate backbone and matrix are significantly protected by the hydrophobicity and steric bulkiness that graft copolymerization introduces. More focus and new properties might have been introduced by grafting unsaturated monomers, like malic anhydride, onto the Xanthan backbone through copolymerization. Chemically altering xanthan would not alter its basic structure, preserving its original physicochemical and biological characteristics while potentially introducing new or enhanced qualities, which makes the modification intriguing. Thermal degradation kinetics of grafted Xanthan studied through coast-redfern method with first order reaction, using four different heating rate. Using the SPSS software, the parameters such as activation energy, reaction rate constant and thermodynamic parameters found to be sensitive to heating rate used. DSC and DTA results revealed that glass transition temperature increases with increasing heating rate and thermal decomposition occurs around 172 to 176 ⁰C.