ABSTRACT
Objective Although chitosan has excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, it is only soluble in acid solution that is not feasible for application in tissue engineering. The current study is aimed to prepare the carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) for the purpose of improving the solubility of chitosan to meet the requirement of development of tissue engineering scaffolds. Methods The preparation methods and process conditions, such as the proportion of reactant, reaction temperature, reaction time and so on for three types of carboxymethyl chitosan were studied. Results The results indicated that optimal process conditions of three types of water soluble chitosan were obtained. Conclusion Water solubility of chitosan is greatly improved through carboxymethyl modification, which provides possibilities and foundation for further research.