The production and biological activity of fungal chitosan from the mycelial waste of Rhizomucor miehei


Atli B., YILDIZ Z., CANTÜRK Z., YAMAÇ M.

JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, vol.12, no.5, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 12 Issue: 5
  • Publication Date: 2024
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.jece.2024.113894
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, Compendex, INSPEC, Veterinary Science Database
  • Anadolu University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

In this study, waste biomass of industrial enzyme producer Rhizomucor miehei was used as an alternative source for fungal chitosan production. Fungal chitosan was obtained from mycelial waste at the deproteinization and deacetylation stages at different temperatures and times of alkali and acid treatment with different concentrations of sodium hydroxide (1-3 N) and acetic acid (2-4 %), respectively. High chitosan yield (70.6 mg/g) was reached at the optimized conditions when the concentration of NaOH (3 N), the deproteinization time (20 mins) and temperature ( 95 degrees C), the concentration of acetic acid (4 %), the deacetylation time (6 hrs) and temperature (85 degrees C). The fungal chitosan with a molecular weight of 14 kDa showed a deacetylation degree of 78 %. The XRD pattern showed two peaks at 2 theta values of 9 degrees and 19 degrees. The antimicrobial activity of the fungal chitosan showed broad spectrum at low concentrations (125-250 mu g/mL) against the test microorganisms. As wound healing activity, after five days post-scratching, the HaCaT cells cultured in the presence of fungal chitosan demonstrated a notable 57 % increase in migration rate. These findings underscored the efficacy of the produced fungal chitosan, highlighting its promising biological activities. This is the first report to evaluate the use of waste Rhizomucor miehei biomass as alternative source for chitosan.