Preparation of Hydroxypropyl Chitosan

Abstract

In order to solve poor water solubility of chitosan, chitosan was modified by C6 hydroxyl group. Hydroxypropyl chitosan with good water solubility was prepared by using chitosan as raw material, propylene oxide as etherifying agent and isopropanol as solvent in alkaline environment. The suitable conditions for etherification reaction were determined by single factor experiments. The results showed that the optimum conditions for the synthesis of hydroxypropyl chitosan were as follows: under the alkaline environment of 25℃, the amount of isopropanol was 25 g, the amount of propylene oxide was 25 g, the amount of chitosan was 2 g, the reaction time was 7 h, the yield of hydroxypropyl chitosan was 25.65%, and the grafting ratio was 68.81%.

Keywords

• Chitosan
• Modification
• Hydroxypropyl Chitosan
• Water solubility