D. Mislovicova et al., Sonication of chitin-glucan, preparation of water-soluble fractions and characterization by HPLC, ULTRASON SO, 7(2), 2000, pp. 63-68
A water-insoluble chitin-glucan complex, isolated from the mycelium of Aspe
rgillus niger, was swollen in various aqueous media and treated subsequentl
y by high-energy sonication. The concentration of the resulting water-solub
le polysaccharide fractions was dependent on the swelling medium, the amoun
t of the chitin-glucan complex in the suspension, and on the time of sonica
tion. The yields of water-soluble chitin-glucan were within the range 13.6
to 24.4% relative to the mass of the original chitin-glucan. The nitrogen c
ontent obtained for the samples of water-soluble chitin-glucan indicated a
higher content of chitin (3.45% of nitrogen in high-molecular fraction) tha
n in the original water-insoluble chitin-glucan sample (1.8%). The distribu
tion of the molecular weights of the water-soluble fractions prepared was d
etermined by high-performance liquid chromatography. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scie
nce B.V. All rights reserved.