Antimicrobial properties of chitosan and mode of action: A state of the art review

Bio-nanocomposites for food packaging applications

Perspectives for chitosan based antimicrobial films in food applications

Chitosan, a versatile hydrophilic polysaccharide derived from chitin, has a broad antimicrobial spectrum to which gram-negative, gram-positive bacteria and fungi are highly susceptible. In the current review, three possible and accepted antimicrobial mechanisms for chitosan are presented and briefly discussed. The activity dependence on polymeric molecular weight (MW) and degree of acetylation (DA) are described. The chitosan minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) are summarized according to recent data found in the literature. The potential to improve inhibitory growth of bacteria by using water soluble chitosan derivatives is also discussed. The data indicate that the effectiveness of chitosan varies and is dependent on species of target microorganisms.

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A Review of the Antimicrobial Activity of Chitosan

Chitin, the second most important natural polymer in the world, and its N-deacetylated derivative chitosan, have been identified as versatile biopolymers for a broad range of applications in medicine, agriculture and the food industry. Two of the main reasons for this are firstly the unique chemical, physicochemical and biological properties of chitin and chitosan, and secondly the unlimited supply of raw materials for their production. These polymers exhibit widely differing physicochemical properties depending on the chitin source and the conditions of chitosan production. The presence of reactive functional groups as well as the polysaccharide nature of these biopolymers enables them to undergo diverse chemical modifications. A complete chemical and physicochemical characterization of chitin, chitosan and their derivatives is not possible without using spectroscopic techniques. This review focuses on the application of spectroscopic methods for the structural analysis of these compounds.

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Application of Spectroscopic Methods for Structural Analysis of Chitin and Chitosan

Physicochemical and bioactivity of cross-linked chitosan-PVA film for food packaging applications.

Preparation and physicochemical evaluation of chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol)/pectin ternary film for food-packaging applications.

Preparation, physicochemical and biological evaluation of quercetin based chitosan-gelatin film for food packaging

The chitosan–silver oxide encapsulated nanocomposite film was prepared by solution casting method. The prepared film was characterized by FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal studies, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The elemental composition of the film was studied by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). The antibacterial activity of the composite film against pathogenic bacteria viz. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was measured by agar diffusion method. Our observations suggest that chitosan as biomaterial based nanocomposite film containing silver oxide has an excellent antibacterial ability for food packaging applications.

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Gopal K. Mehrotra

Papers

Perspectives for chitosan based antimicrobial films in food applications

Physicochemical and bioactivity of cross-linked chitosan-PVA film for food packaging applications.

Preparation and physicochemical evaluation of chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol)/pectin ternary film for food-packaging applications.

Preparation, physicochemical and biological evaluation of quercetin based chitosan-gelatin film for food packaging

Chitosan–silver oxide nanocomposite film: Preparation and antimicrobial activity