Chitosan antiviral activity: Dependence on structure and depolymerization method

• Published in: Applied biochemistry and microbiology Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 103 - 108
• Main Authors: Davydova, V. N, Nagorskaya, V. P, Gorbach, V. I, Kalitnik, A. A, Reunov, A. V, Solov'eva, T. F, Ermak, I. M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica 2011; SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Antimicrobial agents; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Carbohydrates; Dialysis; Enzymes; Hydrogen peroxide; Hydrolysis; Life Sciences; Medical Microbiology; Microbiology; Pathogens; Plant diseases; Tobacco mosaic virus; Ultrafiltration; Chitosan Derivative; Chitosan; Antiviral Activity; Tobacco Mosaic Virus; Apply Biochemistry
• ISSN: 0003-6838; 1608-3024
• DOI: 10.1134/S0003683811010042

Enzymatic (the action of lysozyme) and chemical (the action of hydrogen peroxide) hydrolysis of chitosans with various degree of acetylation (DA)--25, 17, and 1.5%--was performed. Purification and fractioning of the hydrolysis products were performed using dialysis, ultrafiltration, and gel-penetrating chromatography. Low-molecular (LM) derivatives of the polysaccharide with molecular masses from 17 to 2 kDa were obtained. The study of their antiviral activity against the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) showed that these samples inhibited the formation of local necroses induced by the virus for 50-90%. The antiviral activity of the LM chitosans significantly increased with the lowering of their polymerization degree. Furthermore, the products of the enzymatic hydrolysis possessed lower activity than the chitosan samples obtained as a result of chemical hydrolysis. It was revealed that the exhibition of the antiviral activity weakly depended on the degree of acetylation of the samples.