Production of Chitooligosaccharides and Their Potential Applications in Medicine
1
Department of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1432 Ås, Norway
2
Norwegian Biopolymer Laboratory (NOBIPOL), Department of Biotechnology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(5), 1482-1517; https://doi.org/10.3390/md8051482
Received: 5 March 2010
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Revised: 14 April 2010
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Accepted: 23 April 2010
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Published: 27 April 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Chitin and Chitosan)
Chitooligosaccharides (CHOS) are homo- or heterooligomers of N-acetylglucosamine and D-glucosamine. CHOS can be produced using chitin or chitosan as a starting material, using enzymatic conversions, chemical methods or combinations thereof. Production of well-defined CHOS-mixtures, or even pure CHOS, is of great interest since these oligosaccharides are thought to have several interesting bioactivities. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these bioactivities is of major importance. However, so far in-depth knowledge on the mode-of-action of CHOS is scarce, one major reason being that most published studies are done with badly characterized heterogeneous mixtures of CHOS. Production of CHOS that are well-defined in terms of length, degree of N-acetylation, and sequence is not straightforward. Here we provide an overview of techniques that may be used to produce and characterize reasonably well-defined CHOS fractions. We also present possible medical applications of CHOS, including tumor growth inhibition and inhibition of TH2-induced inflammation in asthma, as well as use as a bone-strengthener in osteoporosis, a vector for gene delivery, an antibacterial agent, an antifungal agent, an anti-malaria agent, or a hemostatic agent in wound-dressings. By using well-defined CHOS-mixtures it will become possible to obtain a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying these bioactivities.
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Keywords:
chitooligosaccharide (CHOS); chitinase; chitosanase; chitosan; application
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MDPI and ACS Style
Aam, B.B.; Heggset, E.B.; Norberg, A.L.; Sørlie, M.; Vårum, K.M.; Eijsink, V.G.H. Production of Chitooligosaccharides and Their Potential Applications in Medicine. Mar. Drugs 2010, 8, 1482-1517. https://doi.org/10.3390/md8051482
AMA Style
Aam BB, Heggset EB, Norberg AL, Sørlie M, Vårum KM, Eijsink VGH. Production of Chitooligosaccharides and Their Potential Applications in Medicine. Marine Drugs. 2010; 8(5):1482-1517. https://doi.org/10.3390/md8051482
Chicago/Turabian StyleAam, Berit B., Ellinor B. Heggset, Anne Line Norberg, Morten Sørlie, Kjell M. Vårum, and Vincent G. H. Eijsink. 2010. "Production of Chitooligosaccharides and Their Potential Applications in Medicine" Marine Drugs 8, no. 5: 1482-1517. https://doi.org/10.3390/md8051482
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