Synthesis of dehydroabietic acid-modified chitosan and its drug release behavior

A new type of chitosan derivative, dehydroabietic acid-modified chitosan (DAMC), was synthesized by the acylation reaction of chitosan with dehydroabietic acid chloride (DHAC) under microwave irradiation. The resulting product (DAMC) was characterized by FT-IR, UV, H-1 NMR, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and elemental analysis. The degree of substitution (DS) of DAMC was 16.5%. And chitosan and DAMC were used as carriers of fenoprofen calcium (FC), and their controlled release behavior in artificial intestinal juice was studied. The results showed that the controlled release of FC from the carrier of DAMC is better than that from original chitosan. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.