Research Progress in the Chemical Modification of Chitosan and the Antioxidant Activity of Its Derivatives / 中国药师

ABSTRACT

Chitosan (CS) is a natural,non-toxic biopolymer mainly made from the deacetylation of chitin. Chitosan has good bio-compatibility with unique antioxidant and biodegradable properties. Due to the poor solubility of chitosan in neutral or alkalinized media,the application of chitosan is restricted. Thus,numerous chitosan derivatives have been developed through chemical modifica-tions to broaden the application scope and improve its value. Chitosan and its derivatives with antioxidant activity have shown superior medical value in recent years. In this paper,several modification methods of chitosan were reviewed. In addition,the research progress in chitosan and its derivatives as antioxidants was introduced.