甲壳素,又名几丁质(chitin),是自然界中含量仅次于纤维素的第二大天然多糖,有第六生命要素之美称.其主要存在于甲壳类动物的外壳、真菌细胞的细胞壁以及一些昆虫的外壳中,每年自然界中约有100多亿吨甲壳素生成.甲壳素是由2-乙酰氨基-2-脱氧-D-吡喃葡萄糖和2-氨基-2-脱氧-D-吡喃葡萄糖通过β-1,4糖苷键连接而成的二元线性聚合物,分子链中分布许多羟基、氨基及乙酰氨基,形成大量分子间及分子内氢键,致使其结晶度较高,化学性质十分稳定,直接利用较为困难.甲壳素不溶于稀酸、稀碱以及一般有机溶剂,工业上常用强酸强碱法处理甲壳素,以制备壳寡糖类产品,但该方法具有产品结构不单一,环境污染较为严重等缺点.甲壳素酶可特异性水解甲壳素链中β-1,4糖苷键,得到甲壳寡糖和N-乙酰氨基葡萄糖.酶解法降解甲壳素工艺简单、反应条件温和、环境友好,有很好的应用前景.
An extracellular chitinase produced by Paenibacillus pasadenensis CS0611was purified by ammoniumsulfate precipitation,HiTrap DEAE FF and HiLoad26/600Superdex200pg column chromatography.The apparent molecular mass determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gelelectrophoresis was69kDa.The optimum pH and optimum temperature of the chitinase were5.0and50°C,respectively.The enzyme showed high stability at alkaline pH values and temperaturesbelow40°C.Additionally,the metal ions Mn2+,Mg2+,and Co2+inhibited activity of the chitinase.Thechitinase was active on colloidal chitin with an apparent Km of4.41mg/mL and Vmax of1.08mg/min.Substrate spectrum analysis indicated that the chitinase reacted preferentially with the glucosidicbond between GlcNAc‐GlcNAc.The enzymatic hydrolysate was analyzed by high‐performance liquidchromatography and thin layer chromatography,and clearly showed that a subunit of(GlcNAc)2was the main hydrolysis product.