Studies on Adsorption Property for Metal Ions of Carboxymethyl Chitosan

Chitosan is a polymer, which contains β-1, 4-linked α-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucopyranose repeat units and is easily derived from chitin by N-deacetylation. Since chitosan is biodegradable, relatively nontoxic, nonimmunogenic, much research has been directed toward its use in medical applications^[1].It also has been suggested for use as chelating agent for metals, since the primary amino group and hydroxyl functionalities at the ring^[2]. Chitosan is only soluble in aqueous solution of some acids, so it becomes a limitation. The carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS),a water-soluble derivative of chitosan, was synthesized by chemical modification with ClCH₂COOH and chitosan^[3]. It was amphoteric polyelectolyte with stronger chelating ability for metals because of introduction of-COOH.