Synthesis of silica-bound amylose by phosphorolytic elongation of immobilised maltoheptaosyl hydrazides

Maltoheptaoside-alkoxysilane anchor molecules were synthesised by fusing aliphatic ω-Si(OEt3) hydrazide linkers with maltoheptaose. After immobilisation of the primers on porous silica, support-bound amylose was synthesised by phosphorolytic synthesis. The hydrazone linkage as a pre-formed cleavage site allowed removal and subsequent characterisation of immobilised amylose, which showed a broad molecular weight distribution. Under HPLC conditions, amylose assumed a non-helical conformation, making surface interactions and not complexation the primary separation mechanism.