Straightforward determination of the degree of N-acetylation of chitosan by means of first-derivative UV spectrophotometry

First-derivative UV spectrophotometry is shown to be a reliable method for the determination of the degree of N-acetylation of chitosan samples. A mathematical expression is derived that allows to determine the DA directly from the mass concentration of a chitosan solution and the first derivative of its UV spectrum at 202 nm, thus eliminating the need for empiric correction curves for highly deacetylated samples. A procedure is proposed for the accurate mass determination of the hygroscopic chitosan. The proposed approach facilitates the routine determination of the DA, especially when using potent multiwell microplate readers, which allow hundreds of samples to be measured in just a few minutes.