Functionalization of chitosan by a free radical reaction: Characterization, antioxidant and antibacterial potential

María Jesús Moreno-Vásquez, Emma Lucía Buitimea-Valenzuela, Maribel Plascencia-Jatomea, José Carmelo Encinas-Encinas, Francisco Rodríguez-Félix, Saúl Sánchez-Valdes, Ema Carina Rosas-Burgos, Víctor Manuel Ocaño-Higuera, Abril Zoraida Graciano-Verdugo*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

137 Scopus citations

Abstract

Chitosan was functionalized with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) by a free radical-induced grafting procedure, which was carried out by a redox pair (ascorbic acid/hydrogen peroxide) as the radical initiator. The successful preparation of EGCG grafted-chitosan was verified by spectroscopic (UV, FTIR and XPS) and thermal (DSC and TGA) analyses. The degree of grafting of phenolic compounds onto the chitosan was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure. Additionally, the biological activities (antioxidant and antibacterial) of pure EGCG, blank chitosan and EGCG grafted-chitosan were evaluated. The spectroscopic and thermal results indicate chitosan functionalization with EGCG; the EGCG content was 25.8 mg/g of EGCG grafted-chitosan. The antibacterial activity of the EGCG grafted-chitosan was increased compared to pure EGCG or blank chitosan against S. aureus and Pseudomonas sp. (p < 0.05). Additionally, EGCG grafted-chitosan showed higher antioxidant activity than blank chitosan. These results indicate that EGCG grafted-chitosan might be useful in active food packaging.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)117-127
Number of pages11
JournalCarbohydrate Polymers
Volume557
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2 Jan 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • Antibacterial
  • Antioxidant
  • Epigallocatechin gallate
  • Grafting
  • Modified chitosan

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