16 October 2019
Preservatives are widely used in the food industry. They are necessary to extend the shelf life of products. On the other hand, preservatives reduce food quality. Some of them can cause allergies (benzoic acid) or be toxic (nitrates, nitrites). Synthetic waxy substances used to coat fruits can be carcinogenic (biphenyl is prohibited in the US and EU).
Chitosan is a natural polymer derived from chitin, the main component of insect and crustacean shells. It has antibacterial properties and is already used in the food industry for packaging and coating products with a protective film. However, its activity is much inferior to antibiotics. To obtain non-toxic and highly active derivatives of chitosan, RUDN University chemists Andreii Kritchenkov and Margarita Kurasova and their colleagues have modified chitosan with organic azides by “sewing” them to the polymer chain.
Azides are derivatives of hydrazoic acid HN3. Both organic and inorganic azides are toxic, but their compounds with chitosan are not poisonous. Antibacterial activity of the obtained substances, azido chitosan, was significantly higher than that of chitosan. The experiment showed that samples of polymers based on chitosan had antibacterial activity at the level of antibiotics.
The researchers compared this parameter for azido chitosan with the two most common antibiotics – ampicillin and gentamicin – and found out that the polymer has almost the same antibacterial activity as antibiotics. This is extremely important, because the use of antibiotics as components of antibacterial films is highly unacceptable because it leads to the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria. Chitosan compounds do not have this disadvantage. New chitosan derivatives can be used as harmless and effective preservatives to create protective films for food on their basis.
https://www.k-online.de
New material for food coatings
Chemists have developed a method for producing derivatives of the natural polymer chitosan. These derivatives are non-toxic and have an antibacterial activity comparable to antibiotics. They can be used in the production of antibacterial protective films for food.
 Photo: Elena Koycheva on UnsplashFruit coatings can be carcinogenic. |
Chitosan is a natural polymer derived from chitin, the main component of insect and crustacean shells. It has antibacterial properties and is already used in the food industry for packaging and coating products with a protective film. However, its activity is much inferior to antibiotics. To obtain non-toxic and highly active derivatives of chitosan, RUDN University chemists Andreii Kritchenkov and Margarita Kurasova and their colleagues have modified chitosan with organic azides by “sewing” them to the polymer chain.
Azides are derivatives of hydrazoic acid HN3. Both organic and inorganic azides are toxic, but their compounds with chitosan are not poisonous. Antibacterial activity of the obtained substances, azido chitosan, was significantly higher than that of chitosan. The experiment showed that samples of polymers based on chitosan had antibacterial activity at the level of antibiotics.
The researchers compared this parameter for azido chitosan with the two most common antibiotics – ampicillin and gentamicin – and found out that the polymer has almost the same antibacterial activity as antibiotics. This is extremely important, because the use of antibiotics as components of antibacterial films is highly unacceptable because it leads to the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria. Chitosan compounds do not have this disadvantage. New chitosan derivatives can be used as harmless and effective preservatives to create protective films for food on their basis.
https://www.k-online.de
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