Preparation and biological activity of quaternized carboxymethyl chitosan conjugated with collagen peptide

Tissue repair is a spontaneous process which initiated on wounding. If this complex mechanism is disturbed or impaired, the use of biomaterials might increase the chance of successful healing. In this view, a water-soluble chitosan derivative, quaternized carboxymethyl chitosan (QCMC) was prepared and collagen peptides (COPs) were grafted to the backbone by carbodiimide method. The reaction conditions affecting the degree of substitution (DS) were studied including the mass ratio of collagen peptide to QCMC, reaction temperature and reaction time. The hydrogen peroxide-scavenging activity could be different by changing the DS, concentration and molecular weight. MTT assay was used to investigate the cell viability of the derivative. The results indicated that the introduction of collagen peptide into the QCMC improved its hydrogen peroxide-scavenging activity and cell viability with the DS and concentration increased. Therefore, QCMC conjugated with collagen peptides may prove beneficial to the process of the wound-healing.