Abstract
Chitosan is a naturally originating product that can be applied in many areas due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and nontoxic properties. The broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of chitosan offers great commercial potential for this product. Nevertheless, the antimicrobial activity of chitosan varies, because this activity is associated with its physicochemical characteristics and depends on the type of microorganism. In this review article, the fundamental properties, modes of antimicrobial action, and antimicrobial effects-related factors of chitosan are discussed. We further summarize how microorganisms genetically respond to chitosan. Finally, applications of chitosan-based biomaterials, such as nanoparticles and films, in combination with current clinical antibiotics or antifungal drugs, are also addressed.
Highlights
Chitin (β-(1–4)-poly-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine) is the second most abundant polysaccharide distributed in nature [1]
A similar finding was found in Bacillus cereus after treatment with either type of polysaccharide or chitosans A and B, in which both chitosans significantly inhibited nitrogen, amino acid, and pyruvate metabolism, and gluconeogenesis (Table 1) [185]
B. cereus deficient in the genes required for potassium transport
Summary
Chitin (β-(1–4)-poly-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine) is the second most abundant polysaccharide distributed in nature [1]. The processes of demineralization and deproteinization profoundly affect the molecular weights (MWs) and distribution of deacetylated chitosan [4,5]. Treatment for a long period of time and incubation at high temperatures during deproteinization often produces low molecular weight and highly deacetylated chitosan [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. The broad antimicrobial activity of chitosan against bacteria and fungi has been reported in many articles [72,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106]. Future perspectives on chitosan, in addition to problems in further applications, are addressed
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