Performance comparison of commercial enzymes for the synthesis of glucosamine by chitosan hydrolysis in the presence of surfactant

Abstract

Glucosamine has attracted much attention due to its potential biological, pharmaceutical and nutritional effects. In this research, glucosamine was prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis of low molecule weight chitosan with nonionic surfactant (Tween 80) addition. The change in reducing sugar content was used as an indicator for the hydrolysis reaction rate. The results showed that addition of Tween 80 (1%, w/w) increases the formation of reducing sugars approximately two times higher than without Tween 80 addition. Hydrolysis using a combination of cellulase and β-glucosidase showed higher reaction rate than using a combination of cellobiohydrolase and β-glucosidase or using β-glucosidase only. The combination of cellulase and β-glucosidase showed optimum hydrolysis at reaction time of 24 hours. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the glucosamine product showed typical peak distributions the same as those of commercial standard glucosamine hydrochloride.