Process for producing polymerization sugar esters

Abstract

Disclosed are a polymerizable sugar ester of the formula shown below and a process for the production thereof: S(OH).sub.q-1 --OOC--R--COOCH.dbd.CH.sub.2 wherein S(OH).sub.q-1, represents a sugar residue obtained by removing one hydroxyl group from a sugar compound composed of a sugar skeleton S and q number of hydroxyl groups bonded thereto, and R represents an alkylene group. The polymerizable sugar ester is produced by reacting a sugar compound represented by the following general formula: S(OH).sub.q wherein S represents the sugar skeleton and q is the number of the hydroxyl groups bonded thereto, with a divinyl ester of an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid represented by the following general formula: CH.sub.2 .dbd.CHOOC--R--COOCH.dbd.CH.sub.2 in the presence of a hydrolytic enzyme. The polymerizable sugar ester gives a sugar-based polymer by polymerization.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.