• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제18권10호
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• pp.1729-1734
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• 2008

Chitosan, a cationic polysaccharide, has been widely used as a dietary supplement and in a variety of pharmacological and biomedical applications. The antifungal activity and mechanism of action of low molecular weight water-soluble chitosan (LMWS-chitosan) were studied in fungal cells and vesicles containing various compositions of fungal lipids. LMWS-chitosan showed strong antifungal activity against various pathogenic yeasts and hyphae-forming fungi but no hemolytic activity or cytotoxicity against mammalian cells. The degree of calcein leakage was assessed on the basis of lipid composition (PC/CH; 10:1, w/w). Our result showing that LMWS-chitosan interacts with liposomes demonstrated that chitosan induces leakage from zwitterionic lipid vesicles. Confocal microscopy revealed that LMWS-chitosan was located in the plasma membrane. Finally, scanning electron microscopy revealed that LMWS-chitosan causes significant morphological changes on fungal surfaces. Its potent antibiotic activity suggests that LMWS-chitosan is an excellent candidate as a lead compound for the development of novel anti-infective agents.

• 공업화학
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• 제31권5호
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• pp.475-480
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• 2020

Lactic acid와 키토산을 Cu(II) 이온과 반응시켜 합성한 착물을 사용하여 유기인 유사 독성물질인 DFP (Diisopropyl fluorophosphate) 분해반응에 적용하였다. Cu(II)-lactic acid 착물의 경우 homogeneous 상태에서 분해반응 반감기가 37. 1 min으로 분해성능이 우수하였다. 1 kDa 저분자량 수용성 키토산으로 합성한 Cu(II)-LMWS chitosan 착물은 결정화 후에는 용해도가 낮아 heterogeneous 한 상태에서 분해반응이 진행되었으며 그 반감기는 32.9 h이었다. 이 결과는 기존에 연구된 18 kDa 키토산 Cu(II)착물의 분해반응속도보다 약 16배 정도 증가된 것이다. Cu(II)-LMWS chitosan 착물을 결정화하지 않고 homogeneous한 상태로 진행한 분해반응에서는 반감기가 8.75 h로 용해도에 따라 약 4배의 차이를 확인할 수 있었다.