Squid pen chitosan nanoparticles: small size and high antibacterial activity

Nanochitosan from crustacean and mollusk byproduct: Extraction, characterization, and applications in the food industry

Crustaceans and mollusks are widely consumed around the world due to their delicacy and nutritious value. During the processing, only 30-40 % of these shellfish are considered edible, while 70-60 % of portions are thrown away as waste or byproduct. These byproducts harbor valuable constituents, notably chitin. This chitin can be extracted from shellfish byproducts through chemical, microbial, enzymatic, and green technologies. However, chitin is insoluble in water and most of the organic solvents, hampering its wide application. Hence, chitin is de-acetylated into chitosan, which possesses various functional applications. Recently, nanotechnology has proven to improve the surface area and numerous functional properties of metals and molecules. Further, the nanotechnology principle can be extended to nanochitosan formation. Therefore, this review article centers on crustaceans and mollusks byproduct utilization for chitosan, its nano-formation, and their food industry applications. The extensive discussion has been focused on nanochitosan formation, characterization, and active site modification. Lastly, nanochitosan applications in various food industries, including biodegradable food packaging, fat replacer, bioactive compound carrier, and antimicrobial agent have been reported.

Antifungal Activity of Squid Pen Chitosan Nanoparticles against Three Fungal Pathogens in Various Citrus Fruits In Vitro and In Vivo

Fungal infections have been considered a primary cause of the postharvest losses of citrus fruits. Therefore, it is necessary to find low-cost and high antifungal activity materials for preventing the decay of citrus fruits after harvest. In this study, squid chitosan nanoparticles (SCNs) were prepared from squid pen chitosan and used as a biofungicide against three citrus fungal pathogens in both in vitro and in vivo evaluations. The prepared SCNs had a mean size of ca. 56 nm and a high zeta potential of +98.7 eV with a narrow size distribution. At a range of 50–250 ppm, the SCN concentration of 200 ppm exhibited the highest activity in totally inhibiting the growth of Lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae, Alternaria alternate, and Penicillium digitatum in in vitro tests where these fungi were isolated from symptomatic fruits and identified. Furthermore, after 12 days of incubation at 30 ± 0.2 °C and high relative humidity in in vivo studies, the infection area of the sample treated at 250 ppm completely suppressed fruit disease symptoms. The results demonstrate that prepared SCNs efficiently control postharvest citrus fruit diseases. These findings recommend applying SCNs as a potential candidate for citrus fruit storage.