Preparation and Characterization of Highly Pured Water-soluble Chitosan Oligosaccharides as Biomaterials

To develop water-soluble chitosan as an effient gene delivery carrier, chitosan oligosaccharides (COSs) with various molecular weights (MW) were studied for gene transfection agents. MWs of COSs fractionated by ultrafiltration techniques were identified as narrow MW distributions with the average MW ranging from 1 to 10 kDa through gel permeation chromatography (GPC) measurement depending on the applied ultrafiltration membranes. Their structural characterizations were analyzed by FTIR spectrophotometer and H-1 NMR. The degree of deacetylation was determined by UV spectroscopy showing the degree of deacetylation above 90%. The relative cell viabilities were maintained over 100% (10 mg/mL), independent of the MW of the fractionated COSs. The fractionated COSs of 10 mg/mL concentration with narrow MW distributions showed non-cytotoxicity in Caco-2 cells.