Research data for the publication 'Cyclodextrin-oligocaprolactone derivatives – Synthesis and advanced structural characterization by MALDI mass spectrometry'

β-Cyclodextrin's involvement in the synthesis and characterization of new β-cyclodextrin-oligocaprolactone (βCDεCL) products obtained via the organo-catalyzed ring-opening of ε-caprolactone has been investigated. The approach consisted of solution polymerization (dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethylformamide) to obtain homogeneous βCDεCL derivatives. Oligomerization kinetics, performed by a MALDI MS optimized method in tandem with 1H NMR, revealed that monomer conversion occurs in two stages: first, the monomer is rapidly attached to the secondary OH groups of β-cyclodextrin and, secondly, the monomer conversion is slower with attachment to the primary OH groups. Further studies of MALDI MS was employed for the measurement of the ring-opening kinetics to establish the influence of the solvents as well as the effect of organocatalysts (4-dimethylaminopyridine and (-)-sparteine). Additionally, the mass spectrometry structural evaluation was further enhanced by fragmentation studies which confirmed the attachment of oligoesters to the cyclodextrin and the cleavage of dimethylformamide amide bonds during the ring-opening process.