Chitin and chitosan from Basidiomycetes.
Chitinous material was isolated from the mycelium of seven species of Basidiomycetes to evaluate the possibility of using fungal biomass as a source of chitin and chitosan. Such material was characterised for its purity, degree of acetylation and crystallinity. Chitin yields ranged between 8.5 and 19.6% dry weight and the chitosan yield was approximately 1%. The characteristics of the fungal chitins were similar to those of commercial chitin. Chitosans, with a low degree of acetylation, comparable with that of commercial chitosan, were obtained by the chemical deacetylation of fungal chitins.
Di Mario
F
F
Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Area della Ricerca di Roma 1, RM Italy.
Rapanà
P
P
Tomati
U
U
Galli
E
E
D000107:Acetylation; D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000737:chemistry*; D002686:Chitin / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
D002686:Chitin