Hydrolysis of chitin and chitosan in low temperature electron-beam plasma

Hydrolysis of natural chitin and chitosans was performed in the electron beam plasma (EBP) of oxygen, by means of specially designed electron beam plasmachemical reactor (EBPR). Low molecular water-soluble chitin oligosaccharides with weight-average molecular mass 800–2000 Da and polydispersion index 1.5–2.5 were produced due to action of active oxygen species formed in the EBP. By optimizing the treatment conditions the 95% yield of chitin oligosaccharides was obtained after 2 min whereas the conventional chemical hydrolysis usually takes several days. The studies of the antimicrobial activity of low molecular products formed due to EBP-stimulated degradation showed that they inhibit the multiplication of various mycelial and yeast-like fungi. The technique involved is likely to be promising for the production of bioactive low molecular chitin oligosaccharides and the EBP-stimulated hydrolysis appears to be competitive with technologies conventionally used in the industry.