Gg. Allan et M. Peyron, MOLECULAR-WEIGHT MANIPULATION OF CHITOSAN .2. PREDICTION AND CONTROL OF EXTENT OF DEPOLYMERIZATION BY NITROUS-ACID, Carbohydrate research, 277(2), 1995, pp. 273-282
The molecular size of chitosan can be precisely modified by depolymeri
zation with nitrous acid. The stoichiometry and specificity of the rea
ction, together with the simplicity of the reaction kinetics, provide
the basis for derivation of a theoretical expression that relates the
number-average molecular weight (M(n)) of chitosan before and after de
polymerization to the mass ratio of nitrous acid added to chitosan ori
ginally present. The simplicity of the expression and the lack of limi
ting assumptions in its derivation permits its use for the determinati
on of the amount of nitrous acid required to degrade chitosan to a spe
cified molecular weight or for the estimation of the M, of high molecu
lar weight chitosan. Optimized experimental conditions are identified
for quantitative application of the method.