Introduction
Amino sugars are vital bioactive compounds that have various biological applications in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. Among these, chitin and chitosan derivatives have emerged as promising biomaterials for biomedical applications. However, chitosan's properties, such as its solubility, pharmaceutical formulation, and bioactivity, are largely determined by its degree of deacetylation (DDA). Therefore, chitosan with a high DDA is necessary for these applications. One potential source of high DDA chitosan is crustacean shells, a by-product of the seafood industry. However, this requires a complex and expensive purification process and yields low-quality chitosan with undesired contaminants. Thus, there is a need for identifying new sources of high-quality chitosan for biomedical applications.
Methodology
In this study, we worked on improving the isolation and purification of chitosan from fungal cell walls using the acid-base method. The resulting high-quality chitosan was then chemically modified using amine functionalization with the amino sugar glucosamine (GlcN) to generate a new material, amino chitosan (AMC). We then evaluated the physicochemical and biological properties of AMC, including its solubility, stability, and cytotoxicity in various cell lines. We also compared these properties with those of chitosan derived from crustacean shells.
Results
We found that the AMC has several desirable qualities for biomedical applications. It exhibited greater solubility, increased stability, and lower cytotoxicity compared to chitosan derived from crustacean shells. Additionally, AMC demonstrated better potential for wound healing, anti-inflammatory activities, and osteogenic differentiation. Furthermore, using a rat model of femoral bone defect, we showed that AMC enhances bone regeneration compared to chitosan derived from crustacean shells.
Discussion
Our study has shown that fungal chitosan functionalized with GlcN has superior properties compared to crustacean-derived chitosan for biomedical applications. Moreover, the use of microbial sources of chitin for the production of chitosan has various benefits such as low production cost and high yield. Additionally, functionalizing chitosan with amino sugars like GlcN enhances the bioactivity of chitosan, making it potent for potential medical applications such as wound healing and bone regeneration.
Conclusion
Our study provides evidence that chitosan derived from fungal cell walls and functionalized with GlcN, known as amino chitosan, has several advantages over chitosan from crustacean shells. The enhanced properties of AMC, such as solubility, stability, and bioactivity, make it a promising biomaterial for use in various biomedical applications. The use of microbial chitin sources for chitosan production and functionalization with amino sugars like GlcN has enormous potential for the development of new bioactive materials with broad applications in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industry.
