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Enhancement of Antimicrobial Activity of Chitosan by Irradiation
Author(s) -
Matsuhashi S,
Kume T
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0010(199702)73:2<237::aid-jsfa711>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - chitosan , antimicrobial , irradiation , chemistry , escherichia coli , food science , biological activity , antibacterial activity , molecular mass , nuclear chemistry , biochemistry , bacteria , in vitro , organic chemistry , biology , enzyme , physics , genetics , nuclear physics , gene
Antimicrobial activity of irradiated chitosan was studied against Escherichia coli B/r. Irradiation of chitosan at 100 kGy under dry conditions was effective in increasing the activity, and inhibited the growth of E coli completely. The molecular weight of chitosan significantly decreased with the increase in irradiation dose, whereas the relative surface charge of chitosan was decreased only 3% by 100 kGy irradiation. Antimicrobial activity assay of chitosan fractionated according to molecular weight showed that 1×10 5 –3×10 5 fraction was most effective in suppressing the growth of E coli . This fraction comprised only 8% of the 100 kGy irradiated chitosan. On the other hand, chitosan whose molecular weight was less than 1×10 5 had no activity. The results show that low dose irradiation, specifically 100 kGy, of chitosan gives enough degradation to increase its antimicrobial activity as a result of a change in molecular weight. © 1997 SCI.