Synthesis of Novel Chitin Derivatives Bearing Amino Groups and Evaluation of Their Antifungal Activity

Chemical modification is one of the most effective methods to improve the biological activity of chitin. In the current study, we modified C3-OH and C6-OH of chitin (CT) and successfully synthesized 6-amino-chitin (NCT) and 3,6-diamino-chitin (DNCT) through a series of chemical reactions. The structure of NCT and DNCT were characterized by elemental analyses, FT-IR, 13C NMR, XRD, and SEM. The inhibitory effects of CT, NCT, and DNCT against six kinds of phytopathogen (F. oxysporum f. sp. cucumerium, B. cinerea, C. lagenarium, P. asparagi, F. oxysporum f. niveum, and G. zeae) were evaluated using disk diffusion method in vitro. Meanwhile, carbendazim and amphotericin B were used as positive controls. Results revealed that 6-amino-chitin (NCT) and 3,6-diamino-chitin (DNCT) showed improved antifungal properties compared with pristine chitin. Moreover, DNCT exhibited the better antifungal property than NCT. Especially, while the inhibition zone diameters of NCT are ranged from 11.2 to 16.3 mm, DNCT are about 11.4⁻20.4 mm. These data demonstrated that the introduction of amino group into chitin derivatives could be key to increasing the antifungal activity of such compounds, and the greater the number of amino groups in the chitin derivatives, the better their antifungal activity was.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Antifungal Property of Hydroxypropyltrimethyl Ammonium Chitosan Halogenated Acetates

Hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chitosan halogenated acetates were successfully synthesized from six different haloacetic acids and hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan (HACC) with high substitution degree, which are hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chitosan bromacetate (HACBA), hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chitosan chloroacetate (HACCA), hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chitosan dichloroacetate (HACDCA), hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chitosan trichloroacetate (HACTCA), hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chitosan difluoroacetate (HACDFA), and hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chitosan trifluoroacetate (HACTFA). These chitosan derivatives were synthesized by two steps: first, the hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan was synthesized by chitosan and 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride. Then, hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chitosan halogenated acetates were synthesized via ion exchange. The structures of chitosan derivatives were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ¹H Nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (¹H NMR), 13C Nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (13C NMR), and elemental analysis. Their antifungal activities against Colletotrichum lagenarium, Fusarium graminearum, Botrytis cinerea, and Phomopsis asparagi were investigated by hypha measurement in vitro. The results revealed that hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chitosan halogenated acetates had better antifungal activities than chitosan and HACC. In particular, the inhibitory activity decreased in the order: HACTFA > HACDFA > HACTCA > HACDCA > HACCA > HACBA > HACC > chitosan, which was consistent with the electron-withdrawing property of different halogenated acetates. This experiment provides a potential idea for the preparation of new antifungal drugs by chitosan.

Synthesis of Quaternary Ammonium Salts of Chitosan Bearing Halogenated Acetate for Antifungal and Antibacterial Activities

In this paper, quaternary ammonium salts of chitosan bearing halogenated acetate, including N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan chloroacetate (TMCSC), N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan dichloroacetate (TMCSDC), N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan trichloroacetate (TMCSTC), and N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan trifluoroacetate (TMCSTF), were prepared via N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan iodide (TMCSI). The obtained chitosan derivatives were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR spectra, 13C NMR spectra, and elemental analysis. Their antifungal property against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumebrium Owen (F. oxysporum f. sp. cucumebrium Owen), Botrytis cinerea (B. cinerea), and Phomopsis asparagi (P. asparagi) were evaluated by hyphal measurement method at concentrations ranging from 0.08 mg/mL to 0.8 mg/mL. Meanwhile, two common bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), were selected as the model Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria to evaluate the antibacterial property of the chitosan derivatives by agar well diffusion method. The results showed that TMCSC, TMCSDC, TMCSTC, and TMCSTF had better antifungal and antibacterial activities than chitosan and TMCSI. In particular, a rule showed that the inhibitory activity decreased in the order: TMCSTF > TMCSTC > TMCSDC > TMCSC > TMCSI > chitosan, which was consistent with the electron-withdrawing property of different halogenated acetate. Apparently, the quaternary ammonium salts of chitosan with stronger electron withdrawing ability possessed relatively greater antifungal and antibacterial activities. This experiment provides a potentially feasible method for the further utilization of chitosan in fields of antifungal and antibacterial biomaterials.