Superoxide anion scavenging activity of graft chitosan derivatives

Two kinds of graft chitosan derivatives (CMCTS-g-MAS and HPCTS-g-MAS) were prepared by the graft copolymerization of maleic acid sodium onto etherified chitosans-carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCTS) and hydroxypropyl chitosan (HPCTS), respectively. Superoxide anion scavenging activity of the derivatives was evaluated in a luminal-enhanced autoxidaton of pyrogallol by chemiluminescence techniques. Compared with chitosan, the graft chitosan derivatives have much improved scavenging ability against superoxide anion. They have similar 50% inhibition concentrations (IC50s) as ascorbic acid and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Graft chitosan derivatives with hydroxypropyl groups have relatively higher superoxide anion scavenging ability owing to the incorporation of hydroxyl groups. The graft chitosan derivatives (HPCTS-g-MAS 1, 2, and 3) with different grafting percentages exhibit IC50s values ranging from 243 to 308 μg/mL, which could be related to the contents of active hydroxyl and amino groups in the polymer chains.