Chemical and Spectral Characterization of the Ozonation Products of κ-Carrageenan

Abstract

Kappa (κ-) carrageenan oligomers are known to have several biological activities. Recent progress in the development of modified κ-carrageenan has resulted low molecular of κ-carrageenan. Ozone is a powerful oxidant and considered for depolymerization of κ-carrageenan. However, few studies have investigated the changes in κ-carrageenan properties associated with ozone treatment. This study would investigate on the changes in chemical structure after ozonation process. The experiments were carried out in a glass reactor equipped with an ozone bubble diffuser. Ozone with concentration of 80 ± 2 was bubbled into the solution. The ozone treatment was conducted at different times, i.e., 0 (control), 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes. The experiments were conducted at pH 7 and constant stirring speed (200 rpm). Ozone-treated κ-carrageenan was dried at 60 °C for 24 h in a forced air oven. The chemical and spectral analyses of κ-carrageenan after ozonation process were carried out using UV-Vis and FT-IR spectroscopy. These changes are seen in the UV spectra as a high intensity of absorbance peak at 290 nm. It is shows that ozonation of κ-carrageenan leads to some chemical changes such as the formation of carbonyl, carboxyl or double bonds.The FT-IR spectra reveals that the chemical structure of degraded κ-carrageenan, in term of sulfate content, is only slightly affected by the ozone treatment.