THE USE OF ENZYMES FROM Mucor circinelloides IBT-83 IN THE SYNTHESIS OF CHITOOLIGOSACCHARIDES – PRELIMINARY RESEARCH

Chitooligosaccharides (COS) have numerous biological activities, including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer and antioxidant. Unlike high-molecular-weight chitosan, COS have a number of advantages in large-scale commercial applications due to their water solubility and low viscosity. COS are used in the food, agricultural, medical and pharmaceutical industries. The present study demonstrated that intracellular, partially purified enzymes from Mucor circinelloides IBT-83 can hydrolyse chitosan and effectively catalyse the synthesis of a heterodimer composed of D-glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (carried out at a 2.5-fold molar excess of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine relative to D-glucosamine in an acetate buffer [pH 5.5] containing 20% ammonium sulfate). The obtained product was analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography.