Characterization of Chitosan Hydrolysates Depolymerized under the Action of Non-specific Enzymes

Abstract

The aim of this study is to elucidate the features of enzymatic depolymerization of high molecular weight chitosan (CTSN-H). Depolymerization of CTSN-H was mediated by non-specific enzymes action, showed that variations of organic biomasses have a substantial enzymatic effect on the degree of depolymerization of CTSN-H. Additionally, we found that the antimicrobial activity of chitosan hydrolysates derived from the depolymerization of CTSN-H against Candida albicans has shown to be dependent on molecular weight (MW) of chitosan. Although various biological activities of CTSN-H were proposed, less antifungal effect against C. albicans was observed as it. Therefore, the results of this study demonstrates that depolymerization of CTSN-H by non-specific enzyme feature can provide some potent possibility to produce antifungal active forms of chitosan.