An approach to understanding the deacetylation degree of chitosan

Chitin, a polysaccharide isolated from crustaceans, is a homopolymer composed of 2-acetamide-2-deoxy-d-glucopyranose. The proportion of d-glucosamine and N-acetyl-d-glucosamine determines the classification of the biopolymer as chitin or chitosan. Chitosan a straight-chain copolymer is obtained by partial deacetylation of chitin. tudy sought to compare 1H NMR and conductometry evaluating mixtures of d-glucosamine hydrochloride (DG-HCl) and N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (NADG) because these carbohydrates are monomers of chitosan. The degree of deacetylation of three different chitosan samples was evaluated also by these two techniques. Mixtures of DG-HCl/NADG of known concentration were prepared and determined by 1H NMR and conductimetry. The results obtained with these two techniques were in agreement with the known content of the solutions. l approach to understanding the deacetylation degree of chitosan and comparative studies of conductimetry and 1H NMR employing the monomers of chitosan is described.