Chitosan, also known as soluble chitin, chitin, and chitosan, its chemical name is polyglucosamine (1-4)-2-amino-B-D glucose, which is made from chitin through deacetylation. What is obtained is a natural biopolymer.
Generally speaking, if more than 55% of the N-acetyl group is removed, it can be called chitosan. Chitosan is already soluble in dilute acid, a step further than chitin. However, chitin and chitosan are both macromolecules, with molecular weights ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions, and are not soluble in water.
Chitin is deacetylated to obtain chitosan, which is further degraded to become chitosan oligosaccharide.
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