| COS | chitosan oligosaccharides |
| COST | chitosan oligosaccharides (Mw ≤ 1000) |
| COS46 | chitosan oligosaccharides with degree of 4–6 polymerization |
| COS4 | chitotetraose |
| COS5 | chitopentaose |
| COS6 | chitohexaose |
| DD | degree of deacetylation |
| DP | degree of polymerization |
| GlcNAc | acetylglucosamine |
| GlcN | aminoglucose |