Enzymatic Degradation of Chitosan in Acetic Acid Solution

Polymer of natural origin chitosan attracts attention of researchers because it can be used to produce bioactive protecting coatings for treatment of surgical wounds and burns. In this case, the biodegradability (enzymatic degradation) of the chitosan material will be affected under the action of nonspecific enzymes of the human body (e.g., hyaluronidase, which is present at the wound surface, etc.). The speed of this process will determine the life of the polymer material on the wound surface. Thus, the study of the process of enzymatic degradation of chitosan under the action of nonspecific enzyme preparations will be important, both from scientific and practical points of view. In this paper, we determine the kinetic parameters of the process of enzymatic degradation of chitosan by the enzyme hyaluronidase.