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Chitooligosaccharides (COS) were prepared by hydrogen peroxide (1%) degradation of chitosan solution (3%) in dilute lactic acid at ambient temperature. The molecular weights of degraded chitosan were measured by gel permeation chromatography, and the chemical structure of resultant COS were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra. The decrease of chitosan Mw followed the first-order kinetics with the rate constant of 5.71 × 10−7 mol/g/h. As a result, the COS with Mw of 4500 g/mol was obtained at 360 h of the reaction time and its chemical structure almost remained the same as initial chitosan. Germination ability of soybean seeds pre-soaking in COS (4500 g/mol) solution with different concentrations, particularly 0 (control), 50, 100 and 200 mg/L was investigated. Results indicated that germination rate increased significantly for all soybean seeds treated with COS compared to the control. Thus, COS prepared by this method can be potentially applied to large-scale production with reasonably low cost and used as an effective biostimulant for sustainable agriculture.

Oligochitosan with weight average molecu-lar weight (Mw) of 5000 g/mol was prepared by gamma Co-60 radiation degradation of 4% chitosan solution containing 0.5% H2O2 at 21 kGy. Nanosilica with size of 10 – 30 nm was synthesized by calcination of acid treated rice husk at 700o C for 2 h. The mixture of 2% oligo-chitosan-2% nanosilica was prepared by dispersion of nanosilica in oligochitosan solution. Oligochitosan, nanosilica and their mixture were characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), transmission electr-on microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and Furrier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Effect of foliar application of oli-gochitosan and oligochitosan-nanosilica on soybean seed yield was conducted in experimental field. Results indi-cated that soybean seed yield increased 10.5 and 17.0% for oligochitosan and oligochitosan-nanosilica, respect-tively for the control. Radiation degraded oligo-chitosan and its mixture with nanosilica can be potentially used for cultivation of soybean with enhanced seed yield.

Oligochitosan (OC) with molecular weight Mw of 5000 g/mol was prepared by gamma Co-60 ray irradiation of chitosan solution. Nanosilica (nSiO2) with the size of 10 - 30 nm was synthesized by calcination of acid treated rice husk. The mixture of 1% OC - 1% nSiO2 was prepared by dispersion of nSiO2 in OC solution. The morphology of nSiO2 in the mixture of OC-nSiO2 was measured from images of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effect of foliar application of the mixture of OC-nSiO2 on the induction of resistance against anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides fungus on chili fruits was investigated. Results indicated that foliar application of OC-nSiO2 with the concentration of 60 mg/l - 60 mg/l was found to be as the optimal treatment that reduced the disease severity on chili fruits to 22.2% compared with 90.0% of the control. Thus, OC-nSiO2 hybrid material could be considered as an effective biotic elicitor to prevent anthracnose disease infection for chili fruits. Furthermore, the prepared OC-nSiO2 hybrid material can also be used as an environmentally friendly agrochemical product for sustainable development of agriculture.

This study presents the structural characteristics and the antifungal efficiency of the oligochitosan-Zn2+ complexes. Oligochitosan with the average molecular weight of ~5 kDa was effectively prepared by gamma-ray irradiation degradation of chitosan in a solution containing H2O2. The oligochitosan-Zn2+ complexes with the different molar ratios of -NH2/Zn2+ were prepared by mixing Zn(NO3)2 into oligochitosan solution. The resultant complexes were characterized by FTIR, XRD, UV-Vis, and ICP-AES. The obtained results demonstrated that Zn2+ ions were stably bound with oligochitosan molecules through interacting with -OH and -NH2 groups. The in vitro antifungal effect of oligochitosan-Zn2+ complexes was assessed against Colletotrichum truncatum, a fungus species causing anthracnose on crops. The antifungal activity was significantly improved as the increase of Zn2+ content in the complexes. Particularly, the antifungal efficiency of the complexes reached to 75–100% compared to that of about 12% for oligochitosan. Thus, the addition of Zn2+ into oligochitosan strengthens its performance towards antifungal property and bring forward a new approach for progressing biobased materials for controlling plant diseases.

Colloidal silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with particle size less than 10 nm and concentration of 2 mM/L (~200 mg/L) were synthesized by gamma Co-60 ray irradiation of Ag+/chitosan solutions with different chitosan concentration of 0.5%, 1% and 2% (w/v). Incorporation of AgNPs onto cotton fabric was carried out by padding method with 100% wet pick-up. The content of AgNPs deposited on cotton fabric and released from cotton fabric after repeated washing was determined by inductively couple plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The results indicated that cotton/AgNPs fabric made from padding into AgNPs solution with 0.5% - 1% chitosan was the best one of AgNPs adhesion ability on cotton fabric. Results on antibacterial activity against S. aureus showed that cotton/AgNPs fabric with AgNPs content more than 100 mg/kg exhibited highly antibacterial activity (η > 98%). The mechanical property (tensile strength and elongation) of cotton/AgNPs fabrics was almost unchanged in comparison with untreated cotton fabric. Thus, the resultant cotton/AgNPs fabric with highly antibacterial activity can be potentially used as bed drapes and/or patient uniforms in hospitals, etc.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with diameter about 12 nm were immobilized on the surface of cotton fabrics by γ-irradiation of fabrics in the AgNO3 chitosan solution. Effects of absorbed dose, concentration of AgNO3 solution on immobilization of the AgNPs on fabrics were investigated. The optimal dose was selected to be 13.8 kGy and the suitable concentration of AgNO3 was 1.5mM in 1% chitosan solution. The content of AgNPs on fabrics was of 1,696 ± 80 mg/kg for these conditions. The presence of AgNPs on fabrics was confirmed from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and X ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. The antibacterial activity of AgNPs/cotton fabrics after 40 washings against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was found to be 99.99%. In addition, the AgNPs fabrics were innoxious to the skin (k=0) after 1, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 washings by skin-irritation testing to animal (rabbit).

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with size in the range of 10–50 nm were synthesized by γCo-60 irradiation using water soluble chitosan (WSC) as stabilizer and size enlargement by seed approach. The maximum absorption wavelength ( λ max ) was measured by UV–vis spectroscopy and particle size was determined from TEM images. Results showed that value of λ max increased from 523 nm (seed particles) to 525, 537 and 549 nm and the size of AuNPs increased from 10 nm (seed particles) to 20, 38 and 53 nm for concentration ratio of [Au 3+ ]/[Au 0 ] (seed) of 2.5, 5 and 10, respectively. When [Au 3+ ]/[Au 0 ] = 20 and 40, the size of AuNPs was not further increased. Antioxidant activity of AuNPs with size of 10, 20, 38 and 53 nm was investigated using free radical 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS + ). Results indicated that among the size of AuNPs tested, AuNPs of 10 nm exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity. Thus, due to the compatibility of WSC and unique property of AuNPs, AuNPs/WSC synthesized by γ-irradiation method can be potentially applied in biomedicines, cosmetics and in other fields as well.

Chitosan from squid pens with deacetylation degree (DD) of 70% and average molecular weight ( M w0 ) 90.5 × 10 3 in dilute lactic acid solution containing H 2 O 2 (1%) was effectively degraded by irradiation with gamma 60 Co radiation (1.33 kGy/h) at doses in the range 4–16 kGy. Based on the results of M w measured by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), it was concluded that there was particularly strong synergy between H 2 O 2 and radiation for degradation at the lower radiation doses studied. Radiation scission yields (Gs) were found out to be 2.2 μmol/J and 0.2 μmol/J for 5% chitosan with and without 1% H 2 O 2 , respectively. The DD of degraded chitosan measured from IR spectra was almost unchanged by the treatment.

Synergistic degradation of chitosan by γ-irradiation of chitosan solution (3%) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (0.25%, 0.5% and 1%) was investigated. The efficiency of the degradation process was demonstrated by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis of the average molecular weight of degraded chitosan (oligochitosan). Structures of resultant oligochitosan were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results showed that oligochitosan with Mw from 5000 to 10,000 could be efficiently prepared by γ-irradiation of chitosan solution containing a small amount of hydrogen peroxide at low dose less than 10 kGy. There was almost no significant change in the main chain structure of oligochitosan; however, the obtained oligochitosans lost about 10% of amino groups and the formation of carboxyl groups could not be specified by FT-IR spectra. The morphology state of oligochitosan was essentially amorphous, which differs from that of original chitosan. The combined γ ray/H2O2 method is significantly efficient for scale-up manufacture of oligochitosan.

Radiation-induced synthesis of colloidal silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) using chitosan (CTS) as a stabiliser and free radical scavenger is feasible and satisfiable to green method. The conversion dose (Ag+ into Ag0) was determined by UV-Vis spectroscopy and Ag-NPs size was characterised by transmission electron microscopy. The average diameter of Ag-NPs was smaller than 10 nm with narrow size distribution and the colloidal Ag-NPs have good stability for a long time of storage. The effect of several parameters, such as pH, Ag+ and CTS concentration and molecular weight of CTS on Ag-NPs size was also investigated. Ag-NPs of ∼7 nm exhibited highly antimicrobial effect. The inhibitory efficiency of Ag-NPs for Staphylococcus aureus was more than 99.9% at 5 ppm and the effective dose (ED50) of inhibition for Corticium salmonicolor was of 27.2 ppm.

Radiation processing technology is proved to be a useful tool for modification of polymer material including grafting of monomer onto polymer. In this study, partially deacetylated chitin (PD-chitin) was prepared by soaking chitin in NaOH solution with various concentrations from 10% to 50% (w/w) at room temperature for four days. The degree of deacetylation (DD%) of chitin samples was measured by IR spectroscopy method. Radiation grafting of acrylic acid (AAc) onto PD-chitin was carried out by immerging PD-chitin in AAc solution (5–20%v/v) for swelling two days. The swelled PD-chitin sample was filtered and irradiated with Co-60 radiation at dose of 4.8 kGy for grafting. The resulting product, so called PD-chitin-g-PAA was changed to sodium form, PD-chitin-g-PANa by treating with NaOH 1 N and used as metal ion adsorbent. The adsorption capacities of studied chitin samples for metal ion typically for Cu2+ was determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results showed that the adsorption capacities for Cu2+ were as the following order: chitin < PD-chitin < PD-chitin-g-PANa < chitosan (DD76%). In addition, equilibrium isotherms were well fitted by Langmuir equation with the constants KL = 15.5 and 19.4 (mg/g); b = 0.02 and 0.04 (L/mg) for PD-chitin and PD-chitin-g-PANa, respectively. The obtained product, PD-chitin-g-PANa can be produced on large scale with competitive cost and used as metal ion adsorbent for water purification as well as for other purposes such as for sorption of dyes and for immobilization of bioactive substances.