ABSTRACT
Chitin, a (1→4)-linked 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-d-glucan, and chitosan, a (1→4)-linked 2-amino-2-deoxy-β-d-glucan, are the most abundant polysaccharides found in nature [8]. These polysaccharides are regarded to be biodegradable and noncytotoxic, and have some interesting biological activities. However, wide application of these polysaccharides is limited because of their specific properties caused by the regular saccharide chain structures. Therefore, to develop the novel functional heteropolysaccharides based on chitin and chitosan, the preparation of the amylose-grafted polysaccharides was investigated. Amylose-grafted chitin and chitosan were synthesized by the chemoenzymatic method as follows (Fig. 6.1) [9,10]. First, the Glc7
Figure 6.1 Chemoenzymatic synthesis of amylose-grafted chitin and chitosan by means of phosphorylase-catalyzed enzymatic polymerization.
