TY - JOUR AU - Adhikari, Hari Sharan AU - Garai, Aditya AU - Marasini, Bishnu Prasad AU - Adhikari, Rameshwar AU - Yadav, Paras Nath PY - 2021/03/01 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Synthesis and Characterization of High Molecular Weight Chitosan, and Antioxidant Activity of Its Chitosan Oligosaccharide Encapsulation JF - Journal of Nepal Chemical Society JA - J. Nepal Chem. Soc. VL - 42 IS - 1 SE - Research Article DO - 10.3126/jncs.v42i1.35326 UR - https://nepjol.info/index.php/JNCS/article/view/35326 SP - 29-38 AB - <p>High molecular weight nanocrystalline chitosan (HMWNC)with M<sub>w </sub>of 350 kDa and 66.92% DDA was prepared by alkaline N-deacetylation of chitin that was abundantly obtained after demineralization and deproteinization of pulverized crab shells, and commercially available chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) with average M<sub>w</sub>&lt; 3000 Da and 87% DDA was encapsulated with HMWNC. The encapsulation of COS as a pharmaceutical ingredient into HMWC was hypothesized to enhance the bioavailability of COS in target cells. The HMWNC encapsulated chitosan oligosaccharide (COS-HMWNC) showed <em>in vitro</em> antioxidant activity on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals (IC<sub>50</sub> = 512.6±14.4 μg/mL) while others showed less than 50% inhibition at 1000 μg/mL. The lower the molecular weight of chitosan, the higher was the antioxidant activity. The study showed that the encapsulation of COS molecules in HMWNCcould be used as a simple and effective way of enhancing the antioxidant activity of COS.</p> ER -