Conversion of Chitin to Defined Chitosan Oligomers: Current Status and Future Prospects
Chitin is an abundant polysaccharide primarily produced as an industrial waste stream during the processing of crustaceans. Despite the limited applications of chitin, there is interest from the medical, agrochemical, food and cosmetic industries because it can be converted into chitosan and partial...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2019-08-01
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| Series: | Marine Drugs |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/17/8/452 |
| _version_ | 1828115189572042752 |
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| author | Christian Schmitz Lilian González Auza David Koberidze Stefan Rasche Rainer Fischer Luisa Bortesi |
| author_facet | Christian Schmitz Lilian González Auza David Koberidze Stefan Rasche Rainer Fischer Luisa Bortesi |
| author_sort | Christian Schmitz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Chitin is an abundant polysaccharide primarily produced as an industrial waste stream during the processing of crustaceans. Despite the limited applications of chitin, there is interest from the medical, agrochemical, food and cosmetic industries because it can be converted into chitosan and partially acetylated chitosan oligomers (COS). These molecules have various useful properties, including antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. The chemical production of COS is environmentally hazardous and it is difficult to control the degree of polymerization and acetylation. These issues can be addressed by using specific enzymes, particularly chitinases, chitosanases and chitin deacetylases, which yield better-defined chitosan and COS mixtures. In this review, we summarize recent chemical and enzymatic approaches for the production of chitosan and COS. We also discuss a design-of-experiments approach for process optimization that could help to enhance enzymatic processes in terms of product yield and product characteristics. This may allow the production of novel COS structures with unique functional properties to further expand the applications of these diverse bioactive molecules. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:35:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-854dddcb8a704b7baeb580bc124f675a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1660-3397 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:35:39Z |
| publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Marine Drugs |
| spelling | doaj.art-854dddcb8a704b7baeb580bc124f675a2022-12-22T04:23:37ZengMDPI AGMarine Drugs1660-33972019-08-0117845210.3390/md17080452md17080452Conversion of Chitin to Defined Chitosan Oligomers: Current Status and Future ProspectsChristian Schmitz0Lilian González Auza1David Koberidze2Stefan Rasche3Rainer Fischer4Luisa Bortesi5Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials, Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167 RD Geleen, The NetherlandsAachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials, Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167 RD Geleen, The NetherlandsAachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials, Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167 RD Geleen, The NetherlandsAachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials, Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167 RD Geleen, The NetherlandsAachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials, Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167 RD Geleen, The NetherlandsAachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials, Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167 RD Geleen, The NetherlandsChitin is an abundant polysaccharide primarily produced as an industrial waste stream during the processing of crustaceans. Despite the limited applications of chitin, there is interest from the medical, agrochemical, food and cosmetic industries because it can be converted into chitosan and partially acetylated chitosan oligomers (COS). These molecules have various useful properties, including antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. The chemical production of COS is environmentally hazardous and it is difficult to control the degree of polymerization and acetylation. These issues can be addressed by using specific enzymes, particularly chitinases, chitosanases and chitin deacetylases, which yield better-defined chitosan and COS mixtures. In this review, we summarize recent chemical and enzymatic approaches for the production of chitosan and COS. We also discuss a design-of-experiments approach for process optimization that could help to enhance enzymatic processes in terms of product yield and product characteristics. This may allow the production of novel COS structures with unique functional properties to further expand the applications of these diverse bioactive molecules.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/17/8/452chitinchitosanchitosan oligomersdeacetylationdepolymerizationenzymatic conversiondesign of experiments |
| spellingShingle | Christian Schmitz Lilian González Auza David Koberidze Stefan Rasche Rainer Fischer Luisa Bortesi Conversion of Chitin to Defined Chitosan Oligomers: Current Status and Future Prospects Marine Drugs chitin chitosan chitosan oligomers deacetylation depolymerization enzymatic conversion design of experiments |
| title | Conversion of Chitin to Defined Chitosan Oligomers: Current Status and Future Prospects |
| title_full | Conversion of Chitin to Defined Chitosan Oligomers: Current Status and Future Prospects |
| title_fullStr | Conversion of Chitin to Defined Chitosan Oligomers: Current Status and Future Prospects |
| title_full_unstemmed | Conversion of Chitin to Defined Chitosan Oligomers: Current Status and Future Prospects |
| title_short | Conversion of Chitin to Defined Chitosan Oligomers: Current Status and Future Prospects |
| title_sort | conversion of chitin to defined chitosan oligomers current status and future prospects |
| topic | chitin chitosan chitosan oligomers deacetylation depolymerization enzymatic conversion design of experiments |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/17/8/452 |
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