The ocean is considered to be a great reservoir of biodiversity. Microbial communities in marine environments are ecologically relevant as intermediaries of energy, and play an important role in nutrient regeneration cycles as decomposers of dead and decaying organic matter. In this sense, marine-derived fungi can be considered as a source of enzymes of industrial and/or environmental interest....

BACKGROUND Chitosan is a dietary fibre which acts by reducing fat absorption and thus used as a means for controlling weight. Weight loss clinical trial outcomes, however, have contradictory results regarding its efficacy. The primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a chitosan from fungal origin in treatment of excess weight in the absence of dietary re...

Fungi contribute substantially to biogeochemical cycles of terrestrial and marine habitats by decomposing matter and recycling nutrients. Yet, the diversity of their planktonic forms in the open ocean is poorly described. In this study, culture-independent and molecular approaches were applied to investigate fungal diversity and abundance derived from samples collected from a broad swath of the...

Here, we show the importance of the marine biomaterial chitin and its derivative, chitosan, in bioimplant applications. Titanium and titanium alloys have shown high potential for load bearing in bioimplant applications. However, after their application, a bond with living bone often does not develop or the integration of the implants with bone tissue takes several months. Moreover, the surface ...

Proper disposal of seafood wastes is a continuous problem along the Eastern shores of the United States. Blue crab and scallop processing plants continuously dumped their residues into landfills, creating management and environmental concerns associated with ground and drinking water pollution. Additionally, build up of seafood waste generates an unpleasant odor and becomes an eye-sore to both ...

Low molecular weight amphiphilic derivatives of chitosan were synthesized, characterized and their antifungal activities against Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus were tested. The derivatives were synthesized using as starting material a deacetylated chitosan sample in a two step process: the reaction with propyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide (Pr), followed by reductive amination with ...

Marine oligosaccharides have attracted increasing attention recently in developing potential drugs and biomaterials for their particular physical and chemical properties. However, the composition and sequence analysis of marine oligosaccharides are very challenging for their structural complexity and heterogeneity. Mass spectrometry (MS) has become an important technique for carbohydrate analys...

Aerogel microspheres of chitosan, an abundant biopolymer obtained from marine crustaceans, have been successfully applied to catalyze the asymmetric aldol reaction in water, providing the products in high yields and with good stereoselectivity (up to 93% ee) and recyclability (up to 4 runs). Yields were favourably affected by additives such as DNP and stearic acid.

Chitosan is a derivative of chitin, the second most abundant natural polymer on earth after cellulose. It is the major component of skeletal or exoskeletal structure of lower animals, particularly crustacea, molluscs and insects. It is also present in a vast majority of fungi as the principle fibrillar polymer of the cell wall. Fungal cell walls and septa of Extraction of chitosan from fungi is...

Chitin deacetylation results in the formation of chitosan, a polymer of β1,4-linked glucosamine. Chitosan is known to have important functions in the cell walls of a number of fungal species, but its role during hyphal growth has not yet been investigated. In this study, we have characterized the role of chitin deacetylation during vegetative hyphal growth in the filamentous phytopathogen Magna...