INBRE Seminar Series
Published by the Biology Department, Jones Annex, NM Tech, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM, 87801 (575) 835-5612
Chitosan, a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, is medically important due to its biological properties. The antibacterial activity and the antibacterial mode of action of a novel water-soluble chitosan derivative, arginine-functionalized chitosan, on the gram-negative bacteria P. fluorescens and E. coli were investigated. At low concentrations (up to 512 ppm), two different arginine-functionalized chitosans (6% arginine-substituted and 30% arginine-substituted) both strongly inhibit P. fluorescens and E. coli growth. At high concentrations (5000 ppm), 6% and 30% arginine-substituted chitosan-arginine killed up to ~5 logs of P. fluorescens and E. coli. Fluorescence studies with different probes and FE-SEM results consistently and complementarily suggest that chitosan-arginine's antibacterial activity is, at least in part, due to its interaction with the cell membrane, in which it increases membrane permeability. The antibacterial property of chitosan-arginine in neutral pH environment and its improved solubility in aqueous media will broaden the scope of applications for chitosan and its derivatives
Dr. Hong Tang
Associate Research Professor of Biology, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexico 87801
Antibacterial Action of a Chitosan Derivative
against Gram-Negative Bacteria
