Novel metal chelating chitosan derivative: attachment of iminodiacetate moieties via a hydrophilic spacer group

Abstract

Chitosan has been reductively N-alkylated with a 6-O-substituted galactose derivative bearing an iminodiacetate residue, to give a chitosan derivative having a hydrophilic branch and a metal chelating group. The Cu(II) binding capacity of the derivative was comparable to native chitosan, but showed better ion-exchange ability. The product was water soluble, giving viscous 1% aqueous solutions that showed decreased viscosity upon addition of Cu(II) ions. Key words: chitosan, derivative, chelation, solubilization, viscosity.