Enzymatic Depolimerization of Chitosan for the Preparation of Functional Membranes

This work reports the study of chitosan depolymerization through the synergy of the Celuzyme® XB enzyme complex; it is composed of cellulase, xylanase, andβ-glucanase. The optimal conditions of temperature, pH, and concentration were determined to verify the depolymerization reaction. The specificity of the enzymes at theβ(1-4) glycosidic link site was checked. Low molecular weight chitosan (64 × 103 g·mol−1) with degree of acetylation 15% was obtained. The depolymerized chitosan products were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, the degree of acetylation was obtained by UV-Vis spectroscopy, and the determination of the molecular weight was obtained by capillary viscosimetry. With the depolymerized chitosan, membranes were formed and their antioxidant and antimicrobial functionality was determined; results show that these properties are dependent on the molecular weight and on the acetylation degree of chitosan.