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Chitosan-hydroxycinnamic acid conjugates: preparation, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity
Dae-Sung Lee1, Ji-Young Woo, Chang-Bum Ahn
1POSTECH Ocean Science and Technology Institute, POSTECH, Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea.
Food Chemistry
|November 23, 2013
Summary
New chitosan conjugates with caffeic, ferulic, and sinapic acids show enhanced antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. These safe, non-cytotoxic materials offer potential for various biomedical and food applications.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Food Science
Background:
- Chitosan, a natural polysaccharide, possesses inherent biological activities but requires modification to enhance its functional properties.
- Hydroxycinnamic acids are known for their potent antioxidant and antimicrobial effects.
- Developing novel chitosan conjugates can lead to advanced biomaterials with improved efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize chitosan-hydroxycinnamic acid conjugates.
- To evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of these novel conjugates.
- To assess the safety profile of the synthesized conjugates.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of chitosan conjugates with caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and sinapic acid at varying grafting ratios.
- Characterization using (1)H NMR and differential scanning calorimetry.
- Evaluation of antioxidant activity via DPPH, hydrogen peroxide scavenging assays, ABTS(+) radical scavenging assay, and reducing power determination.
- Assessment of lipid peroxidation inhibition in a linoleic acid emulsion system.
- Antimicrobial activity testing against clinical isolates, Staphylococcus aureus strains (MRSA and MSSA), and foodborne pathogens.
- Cytotoxicity evaluation using human Chang liver and mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cells.
Main Results:
- Successful synthesis and verification of chitosan-hydroxycinnamic acid conjugates.
- Significantly enhanced antioxidant activities compared to unmodified chitosan, with fold increases ranging from 1.34 to 5.05 across different assays.
- Demonstrated potent lipid peroxidation inhibition.
- Exhibited broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against a range of bacteria, including MRSA and foodborne pathogens.
- Showed no observable cytotoxic effects on tested cell lines.
Conclusions:
- Chitosan-hydroxycinnamic acid conjugates possess significantly improved antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.
- These conjugates represent promising, safe biomaterials for applications in food preservation and biomedical fields.
- The study highlights the potential of modifying chitosan with natural phenolic acids to create functional materials.
