Facile synthesis of branched chitin by glycosylation of fully trimethylsilylated chitin with a glucosamine-derived oxazoline

A simple and straightforward procedure for synthesizing branched chitin and chitosan has been developed on the basis of the glycosylation of trimethylsilylated chitin with an oxazoline derived from d-glucosamine. Chitin was first trimethylsilylated, and the derivative was treated with the oxazoline to introduce peracetylated d-glucosamine branches into the chitin backbone. The extent of branching was dependent on the amount of the oxazoline and reaction time, and under appropriate conditions, it reached around 0.65. Selective O-deacetylation or thorough N,O-deacetylation of the resulting glycosylated product gave chitin having N-acetyl-d-glucosamine branches or chitosan having d-glucosamine branches.