Synthesis, Characterization and Biospecific Degradation Behavior of Sulfated Chitin

Chitin is a polysaccharide found in the outer skeleton of insects, crabs, shrimps, and lobsters and in the internal structures of other invertebrates. Sulfated chitin was prepared by reacting carboxymethyl chitin (CM‐chitin) with 2‐aminoethane sulfonic acid by using 1‐ethyl‐3‐(3‐dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) catalyst. The prepared sulfated chitin was characterized by FTIR, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). The degree of substitution was found to be 0.98 by elemental analysis. The TGA studies showed that sulfated chitin was less thermal stability than carboxymethyl chitin. This is due to the grafting reaction. The sulfated chitin membranes were prepared from sulfated chitin and then crosslink with glutaradehyde. The biodegradation process was performed in PBS (pH 7.4) containing lysozyme (10 µg/ml) at 37 °C in an incubator. Experimental results from weight loss throughout the study showed that the biospecific degradation occur on the membrane by lysozyme.