Production of Chitosan With Polysaccharide Deacetylase of <i>Bacillus Licheniformis</i>

ABSTRACT A polysaccharide deacetylase (PDA) from Bacillus licheniformis was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 and used for chitin hydrolysis. The strain's productivity in PDA synthesis is about 37 mg of final product per liter of culture fluid. IR‐spectrum of the obtained products showed peaks around 1.650 cm −1 (amide I, indicating the removal of the acetyl group), and 1.315 cm −1 (bending of C─H groups (δ(C─H)) in the presence of third amide) that confirms the enzymatic deacetylation of chitin. Here, we used partially purified PDA for chitin deacetylation and demonstrated a method for spectrophotometric monitoring of the reaction using Congo red reagent.