| Abstract: | A mixture of N-methyl morpholine N-oxide and a small amount of water was found to be a general solvent system for underivatised polysaccharides with the exception of chitin. With the stiffer polysaccharide molecules, the most concentrated solutions were anisotropic, indicating a liquid crystalline order. On the other hand, more flexible molecules gave only isotropic solutions. In several instances, the anisotropic solutions could be spun or extruded easily and upon regeneration gave access to well oriented polysaccharide films or fibres. |
