Chitosan, which is derived from a deacetylation reaction of chitin, has attractive antimicrobial activity. However, chitosan applications as a biocide are only effective in acidic medium due to its low solubility in neutral and basic conditions. Also, the positive charges carried by the protonated amine groups of chitosan (in acidic conditions) that are the driving force for its solubilization are also associated with its antimicrobial activity. Therefore, chemical modifications of chitosan are required to enhance its solubility and broaden the spectrum of its applications, including as biocide. Quaternization on the nitrogen atom of chitosan is the most used route to render water-soluble chitosan-derivatives, especially at physiological pH conditions. Recent reports in the literature demonstrate that such chitosan-derivatives present excellent antimicrobial activity due to permanent positive charge on nitrogen atoms side-bonded to the polymer backbone. This review presents some relevant work regarding the use of quaternized chitosan-derivatives obtained by different synthetic paths in applications as antimicrobial agents.

This work deals with the preparation of chitosan/tripolyphosphate microparticles (CHT/TPP) using microemulsion system based on water/benzyl alcohol. The morphology of the microparticles was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The microparticles were also characterized through infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). The morphology and crystallinity of microparticles depended mainly on CHT/TPP ratio. Studies of controlled release of HP were evaluated in distilled water and in simulated gastric fluid. Besides, the profile of HP releasing could be tailored by tuning the CHT/TPP molar ratio. Finally, these prospective results allow the particles to be employed as site-specific HP controlled release system.

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Chitosan-sheath and α-chitin-core nanowhiskers (CsNWs) have been successfully generated by surface deacetylation of chitin nanowhiskers (CtNWs) in the never-dried state. Acid hydrolysis (3N HCl, 30 mL/g, 104°C) of pure chitin derived from crab shell yielded 65% 4-10nm thick, 16 nm wide and 214 nm long chitin whiskers (CtNWs) that were 86% crystalline and 81% acetylated. Surface deacetylation of CtNWs was robust in their never-dried state in 50% NaOH at a moderate 50°C for 6h, yielding 92% CsNWs. All deacetylated CsNWs retain the same α-chitin crystalline core at reduced 50% crystallinity and similar dimensions (4-12 nm thick, 15 nm wide, 247 long) as CtNWs, but reduced 60% acetylation reflecting the deacetylated surface layers. Progressive surface deacetylation was evident by the increased IP as well as increased positive charges under acidic pH and reduced negative charges at alkaline pH with increasing reaction time.

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Superabsorbents hydrogel nanocomposites based on starch-g-poly(sodium acrylate) and cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) were synthesized. A set of experiments was performed to evaluate the influence of some factors such as NaAc/starch mass ratio, crosslinker, and nanowhiskers amount in the swelling capacity and swelling kinetics. Increasing the NaAc/starch mass ratio up to 7 leads to an increase in the water uptake at a maximum value, however, higher ratios decreased that value due to the increase of crosslinking points. Similarly, the incorporation of CNWs up to 10 wt% provided an improvement in the swelling due to the hydrophilic groups from cellobiose units. Further, the incorporation of CNWs diminishes the water uptake. Besides, the CNWs improved the mechanical properties. SEM images showed that CNWs increase the average porous size of composites. The composites presented good responsive behavior in relation to pH and salt presence allowing those materials suitable for many potential applications.

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