Depolymerization of N-succinyl-chitosan by hydrochloric acid

N-Succinyl-chitosan (1) was depolymerized with 7.5 M aqueous HCl at room temperature or 3.3 M aqueous HCl at 40 °C and the molecular weights (MW) of the products were determined by size-exclusion chromatography–multi angle light scattering (SEC–MALS) and their viscometric features were investigated. The intrinsic viscosity ([η]) obtained at the concentration of 0.1–0.3% (w/v) in saline showed a linear relationship between log[η] and log MW, which provided the coefficients in the Mark–Houwink equation.