Patent ID: 7951898

Claim:
A method comprising steps of: a) reacting an effective amount of an oxidizing agent with a polysaccharide to form a biodegradable biocompatible acyclic polyketal aldehyde; b) optionally treating the biodegradable biocompatible acyclic polyketal aldehyde with a suitable reagent under suitable conditions to form a biodegradable biocompatible acyclic polyketal; and c) optionally repeating step b) until the desired functionalization of the biodegradable biocompatible acyclic polyketal is achieved; thereby forming a biodegradable biocompatible acyclic polyketal comprising repeat structural units, wherein substantially all the structural units comprise: i) at least one ketal group wherein at least one ketal oxygen atom is within the polymer main chain, wherein the ketal group is acyclic; and ii) at least one hydrophilic group or pharmaceutically useful group.