Browsing by Author "Silva, Helena Alves da"
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- OLIGÓMEROS DE QUITOSANA, PREPARAÇÃO E PROPRIEDADES BIOLÓGICAS: UMA REVISÃO BIBLIOGRÁFICAPublication . Batista, Irineu; Andrade, Inês; Silva, Helena Alves daChitin and chitosan possess many functional properties offering them a wide range of applications. However, chitin is only soluble in very specific solvents whereas chitosan is soluble in diluted acid solutions, highly viscous. These problems of solubility in physiological conditions have limited their biological applications. In order to overcome these problems numerous studies have been developed on the preparation of oligomers from these biopolymers. These oligomers are water-soluble, present low viscosity and are absorbed in the human intestine. These studies concerned the development of different methods on the oligomers preparation and the evaluation of their biological activities. The current work is a review of the chemical and enzymatic methods used in the preparation of oligomers, includings the chemical hydrolysis mechanisms, and also the results obtained in the characterization of their biological activities.