On the preparation and characterization of chitosan hydrochloride

The procedures for the purification of commercial chitosan samples as hydrochlorides and in the neutralized form are described. Thermal analysis reveals that, independently of the purification method, all samples are highly pure. The agreement between values of degrees of acetylation determined by conductimetric titrations and by 1H nmr spectroscopy is very good. The aqueous solutions of both forms of purified chitosan were free of aggregation as evaluated by their Huggins constants. The potential use of solutions of chitosan hydrochloride in acid-free aqueous NaCl for the studies aiming to characterize the solution behavior of chitosan is demonstrated.