High Molecular Weight and High Degree of Deacetylation of Chitosan Prepared from Squid Pens (Loligo chenisis)

Chitosan was prepared from beta-chitin, which was isolated from squid pens (Loligo chenisis). The effects of the NaOH concentration, reaction temperature and the time of the deacetylation and degradation processes were investigated. The degree of deacetylation was over 90%, established using a two-time deacetylation method. beta-chitin was firstly treated in a 4% NaOH solution at 80 degrees C for 8h and then washed with water until it became neutral, before treating it in the same solution at 90 degrees C for another 4 h. The chitosan had a degree of deacetylation of 91% and a molecular weight of 1740 kDa and PDI of 1.6.