Chitosan-Modified Polymeric Surfactants: Synthesis, Properties and Applications

Submission Deadline: 31 March 2026 View: 289 Submit to Special Issue

Guest Editors

Dr. Norma Aurea Rangel Vazquez

Email: norma.rv@aguascalientes.tecnm.mx

Affiliation: Department of Metal-mechanical in the Materials Engineering, Technological Institute of Aguascalientes (ITA), Aguascalientes, Mexico

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Research Interests: Surface Adsorption; Porous Materials; Material Characterization; Nanomaterials Synthesis; Applied Chemistry; Chemical Application

Prof. Dr. Edgar Alexander Marquez Brazon

Email: ebrazon@uninorte.edu.co

Affiliation: Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia

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Research Interests: Computational Chemistry; Density Functional Theory; Molecular Dynamics Simulation; Molecular Dynamics;Antimicrobials;  Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Dr. Rosa Elvira Zavala Arce

Email: rzavala@toluca.tecnm.mx

Affiliation: Instituto Tecnológico de Toluca, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Mexico City, Mexico

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Research Interests: Water and Wastewater Treatment; Heavy Metal Pollution Heavy Metals Analysis; Sorption; Biosorption

Summary

Chitosan is a natural biopolymer obtained by deacetylation of chitin, which is the structural element of insects, crustaceans, algae, and fungi. Depending on the degree of deacetylation of chitin, chitosan contains 15–50% N-acetyl-d-glucoseamine units. Since chitin and chitosan contain amino groups and have nitrogen contents that vary from 5% to 8%, they exhibit distinct biological roles.  The cationic nature of chitosan in acidic media resulted from the amino group in the polymeric chain. Thus, the solubility and degree of viscosity are highly influenced by the degree of deacetylation. Chitosan is soluble in an acidic solvent but insoluble in a neutral or alkaline solvent. Chemical modification of chitosan can increase its physical and chemical characteristics while maintaining its distinctive properties and expanding the application of chitosan derivatives. Moreover, chitosan has excellent bioavailability, biodegradability, and adsorption properties, as well as nontoxicity. These properties make it very useful in various types of applications in multiple fields like wound treatment, medicine, biomedicine, pharmacy, food industry, agriculture, nanotechnology, etc.

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