Intensification in biological properties of chitosan after γ-irradiation

Chitosan, a functional biopolymer, was irradiated with 100 kGy gamma irradiation and used to access its physical, antioxidant, plant growth promoting and antimicrobial properties. The molecular weight of chitosan reduced to 82.2 kDa from 337.7 kDa after irradiation. UV-Vis spectroscopy and FTIR results revealed slight changes in chitosan skeleton after irradiation but the degree of acetylation of both chitosan was ~18%. DSC profile indicated a prominent decline in enthalpy and energy for phase transition, TGA indicated shift in decomposition temperature, while XRD analysis showed a reduction in chitosan crystallinity after irradiation. DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity of chitosan (2-10 mg/mL) enhanced significantly by 1.25-1.45 and 1.80-3.14 folds after irradiation. There was a considerable improvement in morphological parameters (number of leaves, nodes, height, fresh weight and dry weight) and biochemical parameters (chlorophyll, total soluble sugars and soluble proteins content) of in vitro potato plant in chitosan supplemented medium at 75 mg/L concentration than the control. The minimum inhibitory concentration of normal and irradiated chitosan for Alternaria spp. was 2500 and 2000 mg/L and for Fusarium spp. was 1750 and 1500 mg/L, respectively. IC₅₀ value of normal and irradiated chitosan for Fusarium spp. was 1387.9 ± 9.2 and 954.3 ± 6.1 mg/L, and for Alternaria spp. was 1536.1 ± 24.3 and 1416.8 ± 3.5 mg/L, respectively.