Electrostatic property, chitosan

The same procedure of catalyst synthesis applied to other polysaccharides, such as -carrageenan and chitosan, allowed data on the influence of the chemical structure of the support to be obtained. The differences in turnover numbers (moles of product per moles of Pd per hour), close to 500 for alginates, 190 for carrageenan, and only 40 for chitosan, indicated that the activities were correlated to the electrostatic properties of the support. Carrageenans only bear one sulfate group per two saccharide monomers, while alginate presents one carboxylic group... 

Sorlier, P., Denuziere, A., Viton, C., and Domard, A. 2001. Relation between the degree of acetylation and the electrostatic properties of chitin and chitosan. Biomacromolecules 2, 765-772. 

Electrostatic complex. Chitosan being a polyelectrolyte is able to form interesting electrostatic complexes with other oppositely charged macromolecules to give hydrogels. The properties of these complex materials depend on the polymer concentration, temperature, pH, ionic concentration, and so on. Few examples are given in the following. 

In conclusion, it can be inferred that the intrinsic electrostatic properties of chitosan coupled with its favorable physiochemical properties could extend the utilization of chitosan in medical, biomedical, industrial, and many other applications. 

Chitosan owes its broad-spectrum antimicrobial property to the amino groups present on the chain[17] (Figure 3.7). This implies that the %DD and MW affects this property but only a few studies [18] have tried to explain its relationship. There are two main mechanisms that have been suggested to explain the action of chitosan against microbial cells a) electrostatic membrane binding and b) cell nucleus permeation. The first mechanism is due to the interaction of chitosan s cationic amino groups with the anionic groups on the surface of microbial cells. This interaction creates a layer around the cell wall that inhibits... 

The chitosan-based nonviral vectors for systematic delivery of plasmid DNAs or siRNAs have gained increasing interest recently. Due to its cationic property at acidic pH below the chitosan is able to bind negatively charged DNAs or siRNAs via electrostatic interaction, typically resulting in spontaneous formation of... 

Cationic polymers were probably superior mucoadhesives due to the ability to develop molecular attraction forces by electrostatic interactions with the negative charges of the mucus the polyca-tionic chitosan was investigated as an ophthalmic vehicle. The polymer is biodegradable, biocompatible, and non-toxic. It possesses antimicrobial and wound-healing properties. Moreover, chitosan exhibits a pseudoplastic and viscoelastic behavior. ... 

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