Structure of a Synthetic Polyxylose

D-Xylose has been condensed under the catalytic action of hydrogen chloride to yield 5.6% polyxylose having a number average degree of polymerization (D.P.) of 10 or greater. The polyxylose was shown to be highly branched with a predominance of the glycosidic bonds in the α-configuration. Estimation and identification of the hydrolysis products of the methylated polyxylose showed that the glycosidic linkages 1 → 4: 1 → 2: 1 → 3 occurred in a frequency ratio of 6.5:3:1.