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Preparation of Expanded Chitin Foams and their Use in the Removal of Aqueous Copper
Published on: February 27, 2021
Sustainable chemoenzymatic production of bioactive chitooligosaccharides using deep eutectic solvents and Thermomyces
Rajni Kumari1, Shreyasi Bagchi1, Pawan K Dadheech1
1Department of Microbiology, School of life sciences, Central University of Rajasthan, Kishangarh, Ajmer, 305817, Rajasthan, India.
Abstract:
A novel chemoenzymatic strategy has been established in the present study to assess the efficiency of binary deep eutectic solvents (DES) for chitin pretreatment, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis utilizing purified thermophilic chitinase from Thermomyces dupontii ITCC 9104. Neutral binary DES mixtures consisting of choline chloride (ChCl) and methyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (MePPh3Br) with ethylene glycol (EG) were chosen for cost-effectiveness and employed for the first time in chitin pretreatment. Pretreatment with DES has been observed to alter crystalline structure of chitin by competitive hydrogen bonding, partial deacetylation, glycosidic bond cleavage and amorphization. MePPh3Br: EG DES pretreated substrate has resulted in the production of maximum levels of chitooligosaccharides (COS). A two-factor approach for process optimization has resulted in significant enhancement in COS production, achieving 1.68, 1.44, and 1.63-fold increments for (GlcNAc)2, (GlcNAc)3, and (GlcNAc)4, correspondingly. Optimization of substrate-to-enzyme ratio and chromatographic separation has facilitated recovery of 0.14, 0.10 and 0.13 g of (GlcNAc)2, (GlcNAc)3 and (GlcNAc)4 per gram of MePPh3Br:EG pretreated chitin. Current research has established that binary DES could serve as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly pretreatment solution for enhanced COS production. The study will lay the foundation for utilization of green, recyclable solvents for overcoming biopolymer recalcitrance with generation of bioactive metabolites.
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