Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This study investigated the feasibility of using both the solid and the liquid fractions of the digestate, a waste from the anaerobic digestion, as a possible liquid growth medium for fungal production of chitosan. An enriched liquid phase (ELP) derived from mild acid hydrolysis treatment combining both fractions was screened for its ability to support biomass and chitosan production by 17 fungal strains. The best results were obtained with Absidia blakesleeana NRRL 2696 and Rhizopus oryzae NRRL 1510 cultures, which yielded chitosan volumetric productions of 444 and 324 mg L-1, respectively. The chitosan preparations of the former and the latter strain, characterized by infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, viscosimetry and thermogravimetric analysis, showed deacetylation degrees of 79% and 84.2%, respectively, and average viscosimetric molecular weights of around 20 and 5.4 kDA, respectively. Moreover, both fungal chitosan samples exerted significant antibacterial activity towards Gram-negative (i.e., Pseudomonas syringae and Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (i.e., Bacillus subtilis) species.
Source: Fermentation
Authors: Silvia Crognale, Cristina Russo, Eleonora Carota, Ilaria Armentano, Federico Di Gregorio, Alessandro D’Annibale, Alessio Cimini, Maurizio Petruccioli
Institution: Università degli Studi della Tuscia
Language: English
Subfield: Biomaterials
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,534
Awards: G2380047324, G2579835590, G7769767580
OpenAlex ID: W4413379530