Abstract
A series of modified chitosan derivatives
1
-
4
has been synthesized. Modification process of chitosan was achieved through a sequence of four reactions starting by protection of its amino group with benzaldehyde (derivative
1
), followed by reaction with epichlorohydrine (derivative
2
), then reaction with benzhydrazide (derivative
3
), and finally restoring the free amino groups on the chitosan by removing of benzaldehyde molecules (derivative
4
). These four derivatives were characterized by elemental analyses, FTIR, and X-ray. The four chitosan derivatives showed better antibacterial and antifungal activities than that of chitosan. Derivative
4
exhibited the highest antimicrobial activity relative to the other derivatives.