Structural Characterization and Antioxidant Potential of Chitosan by γ-Irradiation from the Carapace of Horseshoe Crab

• Main Authors: Siddhartha Pati, Anil Chatterji, Bisnu Prasad Dash, Bryan Raveen Nelson, Tanmay Sarkar, Salwa Shahimi, Hisham Atan Edinur, Teh Sabariah Binti Abd Manan, Paramananda Jena, Yugal Kishore Mohanta, Diptikanta Acharya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
• Series: Polymers
• Subjects: biopolymer; antioxidant; preservative; chitin; scavenging; natural product
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/10/2361

Natural product extraction is ingenuity that permits the mass manufacturing of specific products in a cost-effective manner. With the aim of obtaining an alternative chitosan supply, the carapace of dead horseshoe crabs seemed feasible. This sparked an investigation of the structural changes and antioxidant capacity of horseshoe crab chitosan (HCH) by γ-irradiation using ⁶⁰Co source. Chitosan was extracted from the horseshoe crab (<i>Tachypleus gigas</i>; Müller) carapace using heterogeneous chemical <i>N</i>-deacetylation of chitin, followed by the irradiation of HCH using ⁶⁰Co at a dose-dependent rate of 10 kGy/hour. The average molecular weight was determined by the viscosimetric method. Regarding the chemical properties, the crystal-like structures obtained from γ-irradiated chitosan powders were determined using Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The change in chitosan structure was evident with dose-dependent rates between 10 and 20 kGy/hour. The antioxidant properties of horseshoe crab-derived chitosan were evaluated in vitro. The 20 kGy γ-irradiation applied to chitosan changed the structure and reduced the molecular weight, providing sufficient degradation for an increase in antioxidant activity. Our findings indicate that horseshoe crab chitosan can be employed for both scald-wound healing and long-term food preservation due to its buffer-like and radical ion scavenging ability.