Potential use of N-carboxyethylchitosan in biomedical applications: Preparation, characterization, biological properties

N-carboxyethylchitosan (CECS) was successfully prepared via Michael addition reaction of chitosan (CS) with acrylic acid in water. The structure of CECS was characterized by Fourier transform Infra-Red spectrometry (FT-IR), 1HNMR, elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Antibacterial activity of CECS was evaluated against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) by using minimum inhibition concentration (MIC). The results showed that the prepared CECS soluble in water at wide range of pH values. In addition, it has amorphous character improve its chemical reactivity than CS itself, in addition it has been showed stronger antibacterial activity than chitosan itself due to the presence of both -COOH and -NH2 groups and the CECS shows higher antibacterial activity towards S. aureus than E. coli. Finally, the cytotoxicity of CECS has been evaluated through Cell viability assay, which confirm that CECS is non-toxic and tissue compatible like CS.