NEWPOLYHYDROXYALKANOATE HAVING PHENYLSULFINYL- STRUCTURED SIDE CHAIN AND/OR PHENYLSULFONYL-STRUCTURED SIDE CHAIN AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME, CHARGE CONTROLLING AGENT, TONER BINDER AND TONER CONTAINING THE POLYHYDROXYALKANOATE, METHOD FOR FORMING IMAGE USING THE TONER, AND IMAGE FORMING DEVICE

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new polyhydroxyalkanoate(PHA) containing sulfinyl or sulfonyl group and having biodegradability, and a method for producing the same, and to provide a charge controlling agent used for electrostatic image development toner which can highly contribute to environmental maintenance and the like, and has high performances (high charged amount, quick charge build up, excellent chronological stability and high environmental stability) and improved dispersibility. SOLUTION: PHA containing an unit which belongs to either chemical formula (1) or (2) and being obtained by oxidizing a sulfanyl group by a peroxide compound following microbial biosynthesis of PHA containing 3-hydroxy-(substituted phenylsulfanyl)alkanoic acid unit derived from -(substituted phenylsulfanyl)alkanoic acid as raw material, and the method for producing the same are provided. Further, the charge controlling agent, the toner binder and the electrostatic image development toner containing the PHA, the method for forming image using the electrostatic image development toner, and the image forming device are also provided.