Chitin Monomer Research Articles

Evaluation of the growth of \(\textit{Vibrio natriegens}\) strains in a medium containing chitin derivatives and shrimp shell hydrolysate

Chitin from crustacean waste can be the future substrate for bioindustry towards the circular economy concept, especially for countries having large production of sea products like Vietnam. However, the chemical conversion of chitin into monomers implies high amounts of NaCl in a mixture with glucosamine, N-acetyl glucosamine, and acetate. Thus, a bacterial strain that can tolerate high salt concentration, and use chitin monomers as the sole carbon source such as Vibrio natriegens holds great potential in producing bioproducts from chitin derivatives. In this study, V. natriegens strains 10.3 and N5.3 isolated from Vietnam were compared with the reference strain V. natriegens DSM 759 for their growth performances in medium containing separately glucose and chitin monomers. Strain N5.3 showed the best growth rate among the 3 tested strains, exceptionally in medium containing glucosamine with nearly 1.5 times faster than strains 10.3 and DSM 759. Strain N5.3 cultured in bioreactor at 30 g/L NaCl indicated growth rate ranging from 0.614 to 0.881 h-1 in medium containing glucose, glucosamine, N-acetyl glucosamine, and shrimp shell hydrolysate. The formation of acetate was observed during the exponential growth of strain N5.3 in medium with glucose and N-acetyl glucosamine but not in medium with glucosamine or shrimp shell hydrolysate. The faster growth of all tested strains on N-acetyl glucosamine compared to glucosamine suggested metabolism of these substrates of V. natriegens similar to Eescherichia coli.

Facile synthesis of N-acetylglycine from chitin-derived N-acetylmonoethanolamine

The effective conversion of renewable chitin and its derivatives to organonitrogen chemicals is of significance. N-acetylmonoethanolamine (NMEA) is a compound that can be produced from N-acetylglucosamine (NAG, the monomer of chitin) via successive retro-aldol and hydrogenation reactions. Here we report the aerobic oxidation of NMEA to N-acetylglycine in O2 using cheap Fe(NO3)3⋅9H2O, TEMPO, and KCl. The effects of catalysts, additives, and reaction conditions on the N-acetylglycine synthesis were investigated. Under optimized conditions, a 62.1% yield of N-acetylglycine with almost full conversion was obtained.

Wheat Pore-Forming Toxin-Like Protein Confers Broad-Spectrum Resistance to Fungal Pathogens in Arabidopsis.

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Fusarium graminearum, is one of the major threats to global wheat productivity. A wheat pore-forming toxin-like (PFT) protein was previously reported to underlie Fhb1, the most widely used quantitative trait locus in FHB breeding programs worldwide. In the present work, wheat PFT was ectopically expressed in the model dicot plant Arabidopsis. Heterologous expression of wheat PFT in Arabidopsis provided a broad-spectrum quantitative resistance to fungal pathogens including F. graminearum, Colletotrichum higginsianum, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, and Botrytis cinerea. However, there was no resistance to bacterial or oomycete pathogens Pseudomonas syringae and Phytophthora capsici, respectively in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants. To explore the reason for the resistance response to, exclusively, the fungal pathogens, purified PFT protein was hybridized to a glycan microarray having 300 different types of carbohydrate monomers and oligomers. It was found that PFT specifically hybridized with chitin monomer, N-acetyl glucosamine (GlcNAc), which is present in fungal cell walls but not in bacteria or oomycete species. This exclusive recognition of chitin may be responsible for the specificity of PFT-mediated resistance to fungal pathogens. Transfer of the atypical quantitative resistance of wheat PFT to a dicot system highlights its potential utility in designing broad-spectrum resistance in diverse host plants. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Utilizing the Sensitization Effect for Direct Laser Writing in a Novel Photoresist Based on the Chitin Monomer N‐acetyl‐D‐glucosamine

In article number 2201688, Dominic T. Meiers, Cordt Zollfrank, Georg von Freymann, and co-workers present a new photoresist which enables direct laser writing of rigid structures made from the monomeric unit of chitin. In addition, they demonstrate a way to significantly increase the writing speed by transferring the sensitization effect from one- to two-photon absorption.

Bioproduction of Chitin Hydrolysate Containing N-Acetylglucosamine by Serratia marcescens PT6 Crude Chitinase and Its Effects on Bacterial Growth Inhibition in Various Temperature

N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), a chitin monomer, can be used as a natural preservative to ensure food quality and safety. Combining natural preservatives with low storage temperature offers physical hurdles to bacterial growth in food. This study aimed to produce chitin hydrolysate containing GlcNAc using Serratia marcescens PT6 crude chitinase and investigate its effect on bacterial growth rate as a function of temperature. Crude chitinase from partial purification was used to hydrolyze 1.3% colloidal chitin. The optimal enzymatic conditions were pH 6 and 45˚C for 120 min, at an enzyme:substrate ratio of 1:1, yielding a 65.6 µg/mL GlcNAc. Inhibitory activity of hydrolysate containing 2.5-7.5 ppm GlcNAc on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus was measured at 4, 15, and 30oC in nutrient broth. Bacterial growth was measured using of optical density for each combination of GlcNAc concentration and temperature. Growth curves fitted by the Baranyi and Roberts model were developed using DMFit software. The growth rate was converted to the square root and then modeled as a function of temperature using the Ratkowsky square root model. Incubation temperature exerted a pronounced effect on the inhibition of all bacterial species (P<0.0001), with the greatest effect observed for E. coli at 30°C (P<0.0001), and the least effect for V. parahaemolyticus (P=0.0878). The inhibitory effect of GlcNAc in chitin hydrolysate was only significant for E. coli (P<0.0001) and S. aureus (P=0.0041). This study revealed that the effect of temperature in growth inhibition was more significant than GlcNAc addition. However, a reduction in bacterial growth with the addition of GlcNAc at 30°C was observed, which may be effective for food encountered thermal abuse conditions. Further investigation of the effect of GlcNAc on bacteria structure and metabolism is required to elucidate the mechanism of GlcNAc as a food preservative.

In-silico Docking and Toxicity Analysis of N-acetyl D- glucosamine with Antimicrobial Proteins- A Novel Targeting against Antimicrobial Resistance

Nutraceuticals are popular health-promoting agents for various disease ailments such as food supplements, health promoters, etc. The rising antimicrobial resistance concerns are a serious challenge to researchers and need of the hour to be addressed by developing novel antimicrobial agents. One prospective nutraceutical that has been chosen as a candidate for development as an antibacterial agent is N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. GlcNAc is a monomer of chitin, a substance found in the cell walls of several fungi, mollusks, and cephalopod beaks. The present study aimed to evaluate NAG’s antimicrobial potential by in-silico docking using Molegro virtual docker MVD 2013.6.0 as a novel approach. N-acetyl-D-glucosamine was tested against various targets like penicillin-binding protein (PDB3UDI) ligase (PDB2zdq), isomerase/isomerase inhibitor (PDB3TTZ), transferase (PDB2VEG), thymidylate kinase (PDB5UIV), dihydrofolate reductase (PDB3SRW), rifampicin-resistant, RNA polymerase (PDB6VVT) in diff erent confi rmations. Based on the docking scores obtained NAG was found to have potent activity against Acinetobacter baumannii, Thermus thermophilus, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Candida albicans proving the therapeutic approach that can develop the NAG as antimicrobial agent. The toxicity analysis was performed using TEST software using diff erent methods proving there no report of endotoxicity of GlcNAc molecule that tend to be promising for developing the GlcNAc as lead for antimicrobial resistance. The future lies in evaluating the in-vivo antimicrobial potential studies of NAG.

Chitin Hydrolysis Using Zeolites in Lithium Bromide Molten Salt Hydrate

N-Acetyl-d-glucosamine (NAG), the monomer of chitin, is used as a food supplement and a key platform chemical to access a range of organonitrogen chemicals. However, efficient and environmentally benign catalytic systems to depolymerize raw chitin into monomers are still limited. In this regard, here we report hydrolysis of untreated chitin using low-cost and recyclable zeolites in LiBr molten salt hydrate (MSH). The chabazite (CHA) zeolites (silicoaluminophosphate SAPO-34 and aluminosilicate SSZ-13) exhibited superior performance compared with other zeolites (e.g., Hβ, HZSM-5, and HUSY). Under optimized conditions, nanosheet-like SAPO-34 crystals (NS-0.1) and commercial microporous SAPO-34 achieved 61 and 63% NAG yield, respectively. H+ in zeolites exchanges with Li+ in LiBr MSH, which then promotes chitin hydrolysis. Thus, the formation rate of NAG was not dependent on the textural properties of zeolites (e.g., pore size, surface area, pore volume) but rather correlated to the acid site properties. In particular, a strong negative correlation between Lewis acid density and NAG yield was observed. The work establishes a pathway to hydrolyze chitin using solid heterogeneous catalysts.

Utilizing the Sensitization Effect for Direct Laser Writing in a Novel Photoresist Based on the Chitin Monomer N‐acetyl‐D‐glucosamine

The great flexibility of direct laser writing (DLW) arises from the possibility to fabricate precise three‐dimensional structures on very small scales as well as the broad range of applicable materials. However, there is still a vast number of promising materials, which are currently inaccessible requiring the continuous development of novel photoresists. Herein, a new bio‐sourced resist is reported that uses the monomeric unit of chitin, N‐acetyl‐D‐glucosamine, paving the way from existing hydrogel resists based on animal carbohydrates to a new class of non‐hydrogel ones. In addition, it is shown that the combined use of two photoinitiators is advantageous over the use of a single one. In this approach, the first photoinitiator is a good two‐photon absorber at the applied wavelength, while the second photoinitiator exhibits poor two‐photon absorbtion abilities, but is better suited for cross‐linking of the monomer. The first photoinitiator absorbs the light acting as a sensitizer and transfers the energy to the second initiator, which subsequently forms a radical and initializes the polymerization. This sensitization effect enables a new route to utilize reactive photointiators with a small two‐photon absorption cross section for DLW without changing their chemical structure.

N-Acetylglucosamine Promotes Tomato Plant Growth by Shaping the Community Structure and Metabolism of the Rhizosphere Microbiome.

ABSTRACTCommunication between plants and microorganisms is vital because it influences their growth, development, defense, propagation, and metabolism in achieving maximal fitness. N-acetylglucosamine (N-GlcNAc), the building block of bacterial and fungal cell walls, was first reported to promote tomato plant growth via stimulation of microorganisms typically known to dominate the tomato root rhizosphere, such as members of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. Using KEGG pathway analysis of the rhizosphere microbial operational taxonomic units, the streptomycin biosynthesis pathway was enriched in the presence of N-GlcNAc. The biosynthesis of 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (acetoin) and 2,3-butanediol, two foremost types of plant growth promotion-related volatile organic compounds, were activated in both Bacillus subtilis and Streptomyces thermocarboxydus strains when they were cocultured with N-GlcNAc. In addition, the application of N-GlcNAc increased indole-3-acetic acid production in a dose-dependent manner in strains of Bacillus cereus, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas putida, and S. thermocarboxydus that were isolated from an N-GlcNAc-treated tomato rhizosphere. Overall, this study found that N-GlcNAc could function as microbial signaling molecules to shape the community structure and metabolism of the rhizosphere microbiome, thereby regulating plant growth and development and preventing plant disease through complementary plant–microbe interactions.IMPORTANCE While the benefits of using plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) to enhance crop production have been recognized and studied extensively under laboratory conditions, the success of their application in the field varies immensely. More fundamentally explicit processes of positive, plant–PGPRs interactions are needed. The utilization of organic amendments, such as chitin and its derivatives, is one of the most economical and practical options for improving soil and substrate quality as well as plant growth and resilience. In this study, we observed that the chitin monomer N-GlcNAc, a key microbial signaling molecule produced through interactions between chitin, soil microbes, and the plants, positively shaped the community structure and metabolism of the rhizosphere microbiome of tomatoes. Our findings also provide a new direction for enhancing the benefits and stability of PGPRs in the field.

Nitration of Chitin Monomer: From Glucosamine to Energetic Compound.

The nitration of chitin monomer in a mixture of nitric acid and acetic anhydride was conducted and a highly nitrated (3R,4R,6R)-3-acetamido-6-((nitrooxy)methyl)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-2,4,5-triyl trinitrate (1) was obtained. Its structure was fully characterized using infrared spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 possesses good density (ρ: 1.721 g·cm−3) and has comparable detonation performance (Vd: 7717 m·s−1; P: 25.6 GPa) to that of nitrocellulose (NC: Vd: 7456 m·s−1; P: 23 GPa; Isp = 239 s) and microcrystalline nitrocellulose (MCNC; Vd: 7683 m·s−1; P: 25 GPa; Isp = 250 s). However, Compound 1 has much lower impact sensitivity (IS: 15 J) than the regular nitrocellulose (NC; IS: 3.2 J) and MCNC (IS: 2.8 J). Compound 1 was calculated to exhibit a good specific impulse (Isp: 240 s), which is comparable with NC (Isp: 239 s) and MCNC (Isp: 250 s). By replacing the nitrocellulose with Compound 1 in typical propellants JA2, M30, and M9, the specific impulse was improved by up to 4 s. These promising properties indicate that Compound 1 has a significant potential as an energetic component in solid propellants.

Engineering Escherichia coli for highly efficient production of lacto-N-triose II from N-acetylglucosamine, the monomer of chitin

BackgroundLacto-N-triose II (LNT II), an important backbone for the synthesis of different human milk oligosaccharides, such as lacto-N-neotetraose and lacto-N-tetraose, has recently received significant attention. The production of LNT II from renewable carbon sources has attracted worldwide attention from the perspective of sustainable development and green environmental protection.ResultsIn this study, we first constructed an engineered E. coli cell factory for producing LNT II from N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) feedstock, a monomer of chitin, by introducing heterologous β-1,3-acetylglucosaminyltransferase, resulting in a LNT II titer of 0.12 g L−1. Then, lacZ (lactose hydrolysis) and nanE (GlcNAc-6-P epimerization to ManNAc-6-P) were inactivated to further strengthen the synthesis of LNT II, and the titer of LNT II was increased to 0.41 g L−1. To increase the supply of UDP-GlcNAc, a precursor of LNT II, related pathway enzymes including GlcNAc-6-P deacetylase, glucosamine synthase, and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase, were overexpressed in combination, optimized, and modulated. Finally, a maximum titer of 15.8 g L−1 of LNT II was obtained in a 3-L bioreactor with optimal enzyme expression levels and β-lactose and GlcNAc feeding strategy.ConclusionsMetabolic engineering of E. coli is an effective strategy for LNT II production from GlcNAc feedstock. The titer of LNT II could be significantly increased by modulating the gene expression strength and blocking the bypass pathway, providing a new utilization for GlcNAc to produce high value-added products.

Quantum mechanical study on physisorption of dissolved metal ions in seawater using cellulose, chitosan and chitin

Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were performed to investigate the adsorption of alkali and alkaline earth metal ions, Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ present in seawater by biopolymers, cellulose, chitosan, and chitin. Analysis of the optimized geometries of the complexes formed by physisorption of metal ions on biopolymers reveals that monomer of chitin is the best biopolymer for adsorption of Mg2+ ion. Water as a solvent reduces the reactivity of complexes formed, playing a significant role in complex stability, which further proved the effective use of cellulose, chitosan and chitin for real-time applications. Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) analysis and quantum reactivity descriptors of the optimized geometries indicate that the electronic charge transfer between the biopolymer and metal ions acts as a driving force for the complex formation. This study also highlights the significant role of water in physisorption of metal ions on biopolymer.

Green Conversion of N‐Acetylglucosamine into Valuable Platform Compound 3‐Acetamido‐5‐acetylfuran Using Ethanolamine Ionic Liquids as Recyclable Catalyst

AbstractN‐acetylglucosamine (NAG) is the monomer of chitin which is the most abundant nitrogen‐containing biomass. Thus, NAG is a potential nitrogen‐rich feedstock for the production of renewable organonitrogen chemicals. In this work, ethanolamine ionic liquids were synthesized easily from inexpensive raw materials and subsequently used as catalysts for NAG conversion to produce 3‐acetamido‐5‐acetylfuran (3A5AF). Using triethanolamine hydrochloride ([TEA]Cl) ionic liquid as the catalyst, a high 3A5AF yield of 62.0 % was obtained at the optimum reaction conditions of 170 °C and 20 min. Moreover, this ionic liquid exhibited good reusability and still had good catalytic activity after recycling five times. High‐performance liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (HPLC‐MS) analysis provided the relevant basis for rationalizing the reaction mechanism. Therefore, our study presents an intriguing and sustainable protocol for the direct conversion of NAG.

Valorization of chitin derived N-acetyl-D-glucosamine into high valuable N-containing 3-acetamido-5-acetylfuran using pyridinium-based ionic liquids

Chitin and its derivatives contain biologically fixed nitrogen elements, which can provide nitrogen sources for N-containing chemicals. Herein, a series of pyridinium-based ionic liquids were synthesized to directly catalyze the conversion of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (NAG, the monomer of chitin) to 3-acetamido-5-acetylfuran (3A5AF). The yield of 3A5AF in 1-carboxymethyl pyridinium chloride ionic liquid reached 37.49%, without any additives. Using B2O3 and CaCl2 as additives, the optimum yield increased to 67.37% at 180 °C in 20 min. In addition, HPLC-MS analysis has been utilized to elucidate the reaction mechanism. This research on turning “waste” into “wealth” opens up new ways for the utilization of biomass waste, which not only reduces environmental pollution but also has potential economic value.

Functional metagenomics reveals differential chitin degradation and utilization features across free-living and host-associated marine microbiomes

BackgroundChitin ranks as the most abundant polysaccharide in the oceans yet knowledge of shifts in structure and diversity of chitin-degrading communities across marine niches is scarce. Here, we integrate cultivation-dependent and -independent approaches to shed light on the chitin processing potential within the microbiomes of marine sponges, octocorals, sediments, and seawater.ResultsWe found that cultivatable host-associated bacteria in the genera Aquimarina, Enterovibrio, Microbulbifer, Pseudoalteromonas, Shewanella, and Vibrio were able to degrade colloidal chitin in vitro. Congruent with enzymatic activity bioassays, genome-wide inspection of cultivated symbionts revealed that Vibrio and Aquimarina species, particularly, possess several endo- and exo-chitinase-encoding genes underlying their ability to cleave the large chitin polymer into oligomers and dimers. Conversely, Alphaproteobacteria species were found to specialize in the utilization of the chitin monomer N-acetylglucosamine more often. Phylogenetic assessments uncovered a high degree of within-genome diversification of multiple, full-length endo-chitinase genes for Aquimarina and Vibrio strains, suggestive of a versatile chitin catabolism aptitude. We then analyzed the abundance distributions of chitin metabolism-related genes across 30 Illumina-sequenced microbial metagenomes and found that the endosymbiotic consortium of Spongia officinalis is enriched in polysaccharide deacetylases, suggesting the ability of the marine sponge microbiome to convert chitin into its deacetylated—and biotechnologically versatile—form chitosan. Instead, the abundance of endo-chitinase and chitin-binding protein-encoding genes in healthy octocorals leveled up with those from the surrounding environment but was found to be depleted in necrotic octocoral tissue. Using cultivation-independent, taxonomic assignments of endo-chitinase encoding genes, we unveiled previously unsuspected richness and divergent structures of chitinolytic communities across host-associated and free-living biotopes, revealing putative roles for uncultivated Gammaproteobacteria and Chloroflexi symbionts in chitin processing within sessile marine invertebrates.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that differential chitin degradation pathways, utilization, and turnover dictate the processing of chitin across marine micro-niches and support the hypothesis that inter-species cross-feeding could facilitate the co-existence of chitin utilizers within marine invertebrate microbiomes. We further identified chitin metabolism functions which may serve as indicators of microbiome integrity/dysbiosis in corals and reveal putative novel chitinolytic enzymes in the genus Aquimarina that may find applications in the blue biotechnology sector.4kjGuZRPCftKy_HwBHqQX8Video abstract

A bottom-up approach towards a bacterial consortium for the biotechnological conversion of chitin to l-lysine

Chitin is an abundant waste product from shrimp and mushroom industries and as such, an appropriate secondary feedstock for biotechnological processes. However, chitin is a crystalline substrate embedded in complex biological matrices, and, therefore, difficult to utilize, requiring an equally complex chitinolytic machinery. Following a bottom-up approach, we here describe the step-wise development of a mutualistic, non-competitive consortium in which a lysine-auxotrophic Escherichia coli substrate converter cleaves the chitin monomer N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) into glucosamine (GlcN) and acetate, but uses only acetate while leaving GlcN for growth of the lysine-secreting Corynebacterium glutamicum producer strain. We first engineered the substrate converter strain for growth on acetate but not GlcN, and the producer strain for growth on GlcN but not acetate. Growth of the two strains in co-culture in the presence of a mixture of GlcN and acetate was stabilized through lysine cross-feeding. Addition of recombinant chitinase to cleave chitin into GlcNAc2, chitin deacetylase to convert GlcNAc2 into GlcN2 and acetate, and glucosaminidase to cleave GlcN2 into GlcN supported growth of the two strains in co-culture in the presence of colloidal chitin as sole carbon source. Substrate converter strains secreting a chitinase or a β-1,4-glucosaminidase degraded chitin to GlcNAc2 or GlcN2 to GlcN, respectively, but required glucose for growth. In contrast, by cleaving GlcNAc into GlcN and acetate, a chitin deacetylase-expressing substrate converter enabled growth of the producer strain in co-culture with GlcNAc as sole carbon source, providing proof-of-principle for a fully integrated co-culture for the biotechnological utilization of chitin.Graphical abstractKey Points• A bacterial consortium was developed to use chitin as feedstock for the bioeconomy.• Substrate converter and producer strain use different chitin hydrolysis products.• Substrate converter and producer strain are mutually dependent on each other.

A Shortcut Route to Close Nitrogen Cycle: Bio-Based Amines Production via Selective Deoxygenation of Chitin Monomers over Ru/C in Acidic Solutions.

SummaryChitin, a long-chain polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (NAG) and the most abundant natural nitrogen-containing organic material in the world, is far under-utilized than other biomass resources. Herein, we demonstrate a highly efficient deoxygenation process to convert chitin monomer, i.e., NAG, into various amines, which are the ubiquitous platform chemicals in chemical industry. In the presence of H2 and Ru/C catalyst, the oxygen atoms in the glucosamine molecules are removed in the form of H2O and/or CO/CO2, whereas CO is hydrogenated to CH4. By optimizing the reaction conditions, ∼50% yield of various amines was obtained via the selective deoxygenation of NAG. The reaction mechanism has been proposed. These findings not only promote shell biorefinery in green chemistry and fishery industry but also provide chemicals for material science, resulting in expanding cooperation in new areas such as clean energy, energy conservation, environment protection, and infrastructure.

N-doped carbon derived from the monomer of chitin for high-performance supercapacitor

The monomer of sustainable chitin, N-acetylglucosamine (NAG), is fabricated into a kind of N-doped carbon material (NC-HAP-700), with the template of hydroxyapatite (HAP). NC-HAP-700 exhibits excellent electrochemical capacitance of 346 F/g at the current density of 0.5 A/g and capacitance retention of 92% after 5000 times of charge-discharge cycles, which is superior to most reported functional carbon materials. Experiments and characterizations suggest that HAP is an ideal template to improve the surface area, create microporous structure and carbonyl groups for final carbon product. High percentage of pyridinic N, pyrrolic N and oxygen-containing groups are main contributions to the pseudo capacitance of NC-HAP-700. More important, the supercapacitors exhibit practical application in which solar energy can be stored and release to light up red LED.

Effect of Lewis and Brønsted Acids on Conversion of Chitin Monomer <i>N</i>-Acetyl-D-Glucosamine (GlcNAc) to Furan Derivatives in [Bmim]Cl Ionic Liquid

Effect of Lewis and Brønsted Acids on Conversion of Chitin Monomer <i>N</i>-Acetyl-D-Glucosamine (GlcNAc) to Furan Derivatives in [Bmim]Cl Ionic Liquid

Catalyst: Is the Amino Acid a New Frontier for Biorefineries?

Prof. Ning Yan obtained his BS and PhD degrees from Peking University in 2004 and 2009, respectively. Thereafter, he worked as a Marie-Curie research fellow at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland. He joined the National University of Singapore (NUS) as an assistant professor, established the Lab of Green Catalysis in 2012, and was promoted to the position of associate professor in 2018. Yunzhu Wang received her BE degree from NUS in 2014. She joined Prof. Yan’s group in the same year and is currently pursuing her PhD. Her research interests include nanoscale metal catalysts and their applications in producing renewable nitrogen-containing chemicals.