Abstract
The paper presents the synthesis of chitosan oligomers with different polymerization degrees (PD) by chitosan depolymerization in the presence of nitrous acid, aiming to study the correlation between their polymerization degree and their properties. Seven oligomers were synthesized and purified. The oligomers were characterized from the structural point of view by FTIR, NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopy, revealing the formation of shorter chains with an ending unit of 2.5-D-anhydromannofuranose. The morphology evaluation at micro and nano levels by SEM and AFM revealed the granular morphology of the oligomer films, while WXRD and POM demonstrated their higher degree of ordering, in comparison with the parent chitosan. The antimicrobial tests showed the potential of the synthesized compounds to be used for biomedical purposes, the oligomers presenting antifungal activity, which increased with the decrease in their polymerization degree, especially against Aspergillus niger.
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