Custom Chitosan Manufacturing

The molecular weight (MW) and degree of deacetylation (DDA) significantly influence the properties and functionalities of chitosan. Here’s how they impact its characteristics:

Molecular Weight

Chitosan’s molecular weight plays a critical role in determining its properties and performance, affecting characteristics such as solubility, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and bioactivity. In general, lower molecular weight chitosan offers improved biodegradability and enhanced bioactivity.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown:

Solubility and Viscosity

Lower molecular weight chitosan tends to be more soluble in acidic solutions, while higher molecular weight chitosan exhibits higher viscosity.

Biodegradability and Biocompatibility

Low molecular weight chitosan is generally considered more biodegradable and biocompatible, making it suitable for applications where these properties are crucial.

Bioactivity and Antimicrobial Activity:

The bioactivity and antimicrobial activity of chitosan can be affected by its molecular weight, with some studies suggesting that lower molecular weight chitosan can exhibit enhanced activity.

Mechanical Properties

Higher molecular weight chitosan often results in stronger and more resistant materials with improved mechanical properties, while lower molecular weight chitosan may lead to more extensible and soluble materials.

Nanoparticle Formation

Molecular weight plays a crucial role in the size and properties of chitosan-based nanoparticles, with lower molecular weight chitosan potentially leading to smaller nanoparticles with improved transfection efficiency.

Stability

Generally, high molecular weight chitosan is regarded as more stable.

Water Uptake Ability

Chitosan is characterized by its molecular weight, which is responsible for a number of its physicochemical and biological properties such as hydrophilicity, viscosity, water-uptake ability, biodegradability, and mucoadhesion.

Film Properties

Chitosan-based film physicochemical properties were strongly affected by its molecular weight: the lower the MW the higher the color differences and film solubility.

Interactions

Chitosan MW affects both the type and number of interactions, which determine the matrix structure and characteristics.

Mykito Sciences Non-Animal Chitosan Molecular Weight is Customizable from 5KDa – 1,000KDa

Degree of Deacetylation

The degree of deacetylation (DD) is a key parameter governing chitosan’s performance, as it directly affects its physical, chemical, and biological characteristics.

Here’s how it affects various aspects:

Solubility

Chitosan with a higher DD is more soluble in acidic conditions due to an increased number of free amino groups. This can improve its application in areas requiring enhanced solubility, such as drug delivery systems.

Mechanical Properties

A higher DD generally leads to stronger mechanical properties in chitosan-based films or materials, making them more robust for industrial uses.

Antimicrobial Activity

The antimicrobial properties of chitosan are enhanced with a higher DD, as the increased number of amino groups facilitates stronger interactions with microbial cell membranes.

Biodegradability

A lower DD often results in better biodegradability, as the acetylated groups make the polymer chains more susceptible to enzymatic degradation.

Viscosity

The DD also affects the viscosity of chitosan solutions. Higher DD usually results in lower viscosity, which could influence its use in formulations requiring specific flow properties.

Applications

Different applications may require specific DD levels. For instance, high-DD chitosan is preferred in medical and pharmaceutical uses, while low-DD chitosan might be better for agricultural or environmental applications.

Mykito Sciences Non-Animal Chitosan is Customizable from 70% – 95% degree of deacetylation.

The optimal degree of deacetylation largely depends on the intended application of chitosan.

Technology

We have used leading edge technology to create the Mykito Chitosan. The result is non-animal chitosan that is consistent and does not require any preprocessing.

Investment Costs

By purchasing high purity, non-animal chitosan you can avoid clean rooms, preprocessing, process documentation, etc. Trust Mykito Sciences to deliver high purity medical grade non-animal chitosan.

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