| Color | White to pale yellow |
| Physical Form | Powder |
| CAS Number | 83512-85-0 |
| Molecular Formula (repeat unit) | C20H37N3O14 |
| Source | Mushroom |
| Applications | Cosmetic and personal-care manufacturing (film-forming, moisturizing polymer for skincare and haircare formulations) |
Carboxymethyl chitosan is made by attaching carboxymethyl groups onto the chitosan backbone, which dramatically improves water solubility compared to plain chitosan while retaining chitosan’s biocompatibility and film-forming character. This combination of properties — good solubility, biocompatibility, high viscosity, and large hydrodynamic volume — is what makes it useful well beyond chitosan’s typical applications.
This polymer is manufactured into cosmetic and personal-care formulations for its film-forming and moisturizing properties, used in water-treatment applications as an absorbent for heavy-metal ions like mercury, and used as a binding agent in antimicrobial textile manufacturing. In biomedical research, it’s a common candidate carrier for controlled-release and pH-responsive drug-delivery systems.
