• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.261-267
• /
• 1996

To examine the potential utilization of chitosan, the biodegradable natural polymer, as a control agent of apple white rot caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea in a new control measure by coating it on the diseased branches, the various antifungal activities of chitosan was investigated. Chitosan showed significant inhibitory effect on the mycelial growth of B. dothidea, along with the morphological changes including hyphal swelling and ultrastructural changes on solid PDA medium. In liquid PD broth medium, the chitosan showed more significant effect on the growth of B. dothidea also forming cell clusters indicating affection on the hyphal extension. The growth of B. dothidea was inhibited more than 90% at the concentration of 1.0 mg/ml. Chitosan also detained the spore germination and induced the morphological change of germ tubes. Glucosamine, monomer of chitosan, did not affect on the growth of B. dothidea indicating the antifungal activity was caused by chitosan polymer.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.728-735
• /
• 2001

In this study, hydrogels from mixtures of chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and chitosan/poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) were prepared by ${\gamma}$-ray irradiation, and the mechanical properties such as gelation, water absorptivity and gel strength were examined to evaluate the applicability of these for wound dressing. The PVA : chitosan and PVP : chitosan ratio were in the range of 97:3 ~ 90:10, and the solid concentration of PVA/chitosan and PVP/chitosan solution were 15 wt%. Gamma irradiation with doses of 25, 35, 50, 60 and 70 kGy, was exposed to mixtures of PVA/chitosan and PVP/chitosan to evaluate the effect of irradiation dose. Gel content and gel strength increased as chitosan concentrations in PVA/chitosan and PVP/chitosan decreased, and as irradiation dose increased. Swelling degree increased as chitosan concentrations in PVP/chitosan and PVA/chitosan increased, and as irradiation dose decreased.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.17 no.7
• /
• pp.538-543
• /
• 2009

In this study, methotrexate (MTX)-encapsulated polymeric micelles using methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG)-grafted chitosan (ChitoPEG) copolymer were prepared. The MIX-incorporated polymeric micelles of ChitoPEG copolymer has a particle size of around 50-100 nm. In 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study, the specific peaks of MTX disappeared in heavy water ($D_2O$) and only the specific peak of MPEG was observed, while all of the peaks were confirmed in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). These results indicated that MTX was complexed with chitosan and then formed an ion complex inner-core of the polymeric micelle in an aqueous environment. The drug contents of the polymeric micelle were around $4{\sim}12%$ and the loading efficiency of MTX in the polymeric micelles was higher than 60% (w/w) for all of the formulations. The cytotoxicity of MIX and MTX-incorporated polymeric micelle against CT26 tumor cells was not significantly changed.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.573-580
• /
• 2004

To prepare chitosan-based polymeric amphiphiles that can form nanosized core-shell structures (nanopar­ticles) in aqueous milieu, chitosan oligosaccharides (COSs) were modified chemically with hydrophobic cholesterol groups. The physicochemical properties of the hydrophobized COSs (COSCs) were investigated by using dynamic light scattering and fluorescence spectroscopy. The feasibility of applying the COSCs to biomedical applications was investigated by introducing them into a gene delivery system. The COSCs formed nanosized self-aggregates in aqueous environments. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of the COSC nanoparticles were closely related to the molecular weights of the COSs and the number of hydrophobic groups per COS chain. The critical aggregation concentration values decreased upon increasing the hydrophobicity of the COSCs. The COSCs effi­ciently condensed plasmid DNA into nanosized ion-complexes, in contrast to the effect of the unmodified COSs. An investigation of gene condensation, performed using a gel retardation assay, revealed that $COS6(M_n=6,040 Da)$ containing $5\%$ of cholesteryl chloroformate (COS6C5) formed a stable DNA complex at a COS6C5/DNA weight ratio of 2. In contrast, COS6, the unmodified COS, failed to form a stable COS/DNA complex even at an elevated weight ratio of 8. Furthermore, the COS6C5/DNA complex enhanced the in vitro transfection efficiency on Human embryonic kidney 293 cells by over 100 and 3 times those of COS6 and poly(L-lysine), respectively. Therefore, hydrophobized chitosan oligosaccharide can be considered as an efficient gene carrier for gene delivery systems.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.10
• /
• pp.1729-1734
• /
• 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.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.555-561
• /
• 2007

To obtain low molecular weight water soluble chitosan (LMWSC) with various molecular weights, chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) with lactic acid was separated by using ultrafilteration technique and LMWSC with a free amine group was prepared by the novel salts-removal method. The characterization of LMWSC removed the lactic acid and degree of deacetylation (DDA) were identified by FT-IR and $^1H-NMR$ spectra. Polydispersity index (PDI) was $1.278{\sim}1.499$, which indicates a relatively molecular weight distribution. To identify the potential as a gene carrier, we confirmed the transfection efficiency of COS fractioned according to molecular weight successfully and the salt-removed LMWSC using 293T cell. Also, LMWSC derivatives prepared for improvement transfection efficiency were evaluated using Balb/C mice.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.544-548
• /
• 2008

The objective of this study is to obtain the anti-oxidant nanoparticles based on biocompatible polymers. It was chosen to conjugate with chitosan as the biodegradable polymer and lipoic acid as the hydrophobic anti-oxidant. Lipoic acid helps the regeneration of exogenous and endogenous anti-oxidants vitamin as well as glutathione and hence acts as antioxidant indirectly. Chitosan was prepared from chitin which was deacetylated under alkali solution for the various reaction time. Lipoic acid-chitosan complex was confirmed by $^1H$-NMR. The critical aggregation concentration was measured using pyrene and the values were about $5{\times}10^{-3}$ g/L. The particle shapes and sizes of the chitosan-lipoic acid nano-particles were about 135 nm that measured by DLS and TEM.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.118-128
• /
• 1996

N-methyl, N-butyl and N,N-dibutyl chitosan derivatives were prepared by Schiff's base formation and hydrogenation in aqueous media. Furthermore quaternization of the chitosan derivatives was performed in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone using methyl iodide to obtain water soluble cationic polyelectrolytes. It was confirmed that O-alkylation was occured as well as selective N-alkylation in these reactions. Chitosan and chitosan derivatives with quaternary ammonium iodide showed high flocculation power as the cationic flocculant. When tested on paper mill waste water, they showed high flocculation power, independing of pH range. The flocculation power was increased as the N-alkyl chain length was increased. Among them, N-butyl dimethyl chitosan ammonium iodide showed better flocculation power than chitosan. But, N,N-dibutyl-N-methyl chitosan ammonium iodide showed less flocculation powre than chitosan itself.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.263-268
• /
• 2009

Superporous Hydrogels (SPHs) have been extensively investigated for various biomedical applications due to their fast swelling and superabsorbent properties. In this study, glycol chitosan that is one of most abundant natural polymers was used as a cross-linking agent instead of bisacrylamide (BIS), which is a broadly used crosslinking agent for preparation of SPHs. Glycol chitosan was modified to have reactive vinyl groups by chemical conjugation with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). The vinyl group-containing glycol chitosan (GC-GMA) was characterized by FT-IR and $^1H$-NMR measurements. SPHs have been prepared in various synthetic conditions to establish the optimum synthetic process for making superporous structure, where the inner pores are interconnected to each other to form a open channel structure. Various SPHs with different GC-GMA contents have been successfully prepared and have been observed to show faster swelling properties than other conventional SPHs. From the study on the swelling behavior of SPHs, the GC-GMA content is considered to be an important factor for controlling their swelling properties.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2006.10a
• /
• pp.178-178
• /
• 2006

Chitosan has been investigated as a non-viral vector because it has several advantages such as biocompatibility, biodegradability and low toxicity with high cationic potential. However, low specificity and low transfection efficiency of chitosan as a DNA carrier need to be overcome for clinical trials. In this study, chemical modification for enhancement of cell specificity and transfection efficiency was investigated. Also, the chitosan derivative formulations in vivo were included.