title: Preparation and characterization of carboxymethylated beta-chitins and their abilities of moisture absorption and retention.
abstract: Carboxymethyl chitins (CM-chitins) with a high degree of substitution (DS), a low degree of deacetylation (DD), and high molecular weight were prepared directly from beta-chitin and characterized using (1)H NMR, FT-IR, TA, potentiometric titration, and elemental analysis methods. CM-chitins with different molecular weight were prepared using ultrasonic degradation method. Their abilities of moisture absorption and retention were investigated. The moisture-absorption ratio and moisture-retention ratio of CM-chitins increased as their DS increased. The moisture-absorption ratio and moisture-retention ratio of CM-chitins with high DS were close to that of hyaluronic acid (HA). The effect of molecular weight (>10(6)) of CM-chitin on its moisture-absorption ratio and moisture-retention ratio is neglectable.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, PR China.
authors.forename: Xinzheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yiguang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Shaohui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Chuangdong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Qunying
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D000818:Animals; D002686:Chitin / Q000737:chemistry*; D008970:Molecular Weight; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D002686:Chitin