Preparation, characterization and antibacterial activity of O-acetyl-chitosan-N-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride.

Chitosan-N-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (QTS) was prepared by reaction of chitosan (CS) and glycidyl trimethylammonium chloride. Later, O-acetyl-chitosan-N-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (AQTS) was synthesized by reaction of QTS with acetic acid in the presence of SOCl2. Both derivatives were characterized by FTIR, (1)H NMR, TGA, and XRD techniques. The degree of quaternization of QTS was 85.5%, and the degree of acetyl (DA) of AQTS was from 1.63 to 2.31. Compared with CS, the solubility of QTS and AQTS was improved at different levels, especially AQTS, it could be dissolved in many organic solvents, water, and aqueous solution. Notably, the solubility of AQTS in organic solvents increased as DA increased, while the solubility in water was reversed. The results of CS, QTS, and AQTS against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus showed that QTS and AQTS exhibited higher antibacterial activity than CS, and the antibacterial activity of AQTS decreased with increased DA. Moreover, the inhibition effect was AQTS1 (DA 1.63)>AQTS2 (DA 2.02)>QTS>AQTS3 (DA 2.31). On the basis of the results of the present study, it could be emphasized that hydrophobicity and positive charge density might strongly affect the antibacterial activity of quaternary ammonium chitosan derivatives.