Antibacterial Activity of Low Molecular Weight Water-Soluble Chitosan

作者：Park Yoonkyung^*; Nah Jae Woon

来源：Polymer-Korea, 2011, 35(5): 419-423.

DOI：10.7317/pk.2011.35.5.419

• chitosan
• antibacterial activity
• pathogenic bacteria
• lipid
• water-soluble
• negatively-charged membranes

Chitosan is a natural polymer derived from chitin that has been widely used as a dietary supplement and in a variety of pharmacological and biomedical applications. In addition, water-soluble chitosan has been used to enhance the stability of chitosan in water and reduce cytotoxic activity induced by acetic acid. In this study, the antibiotic activity and mechanism of low molecular weight water-soluble chitosan (LMWSC; MW1, MW3, MW5, and MW10) were examined in pathogenic bacteria cells and vesicles containing bacterial membrane lipids. MW10 displayed potent antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria strains and no cytotoxicity against mammalian cells. In addition, the degree of calcein leakage was examined as a function of lipid composition (PE/PG=7/3 w/w). The results of these experiments demonstrated that MW10 promoted leakage in negatively-charged membranes. Furthermore, confocal microscopy revealed that MW10 was located in the plasma membrane.

• 出版日期2011-9