Synthesis and Characterization of Water-Soluble Dendronized Chitosan Using Newkome-Type Dendrons

With increasing emphasis on environmental care and use of renewable resources, simple and effective dendronization processes were performed to obtain chitosan derivatives. We present different alternatives for the modification of chitosan: dendronization with a biocompatible dendron; a quaternization process with an ammonium salt, which confers a permanent positive charge to the polymer; and a combination of methodologies allowing amphiphilic polymers. This process confers unique multivalent properties to the native chitosan, and further modifications reach multivalent water-soluble polymers. Hence, the most important highlight of this work is the use of renewable natural polymers and the different methodologies applied to nontoxic solvents with low temperatures. The process described in this paper represents a sustainable alternative for obtaining a functionalized material with properties suitable for application in different areas, such as biomedicine or environmental remediation.