| Grant number: | 12/03619-9 |
| Support Opportunities: | Regular Research Grants |
| Start date: | July 01, 2012 |
| End date: | June 30, 2014 |
| Field of knowledge: | Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry |
| Principal Investigator: | Vera Aparecida de Oliveira Tiera |
| Grantee: | Vera Aparecida de Oliveira Tiera |
| Host Institution: | Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil |
| City of the host institution: | São José do Rio Preto |
Abstract
The search for natural antimicrobial agents is a new way to inhibit the growth of microorganisms including bacteria, virus and fungus. In this subject the polysaccharide chitosan has been shown very attractive for the food industry aiming to provide a safe feeding. The antimicrobial activity of chitosan depends on various parameters as the groups attached to the polymer chain, molecular weight and physics factors as temperature, pH, ionic strength, the targeted microorganism and the environment in which it is applied. Previous studies in our group showed that besides electrostatic interactions hydrophobic interactions may provide an improved fungicidal/fungistatic activity. In the present project we propose the synthesis and characterization of new amphiphilic derivatives of chitosan aiming to select effective fungicides against Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasictus, which are known contaminants of peanuts and other seeds. The metabolic activity of fungi growth with humidity and besides, Brazil nut and other smoked products may be affected by these fungi as well. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to select effective biofungicides to control the growth of these fungi. In order to reach this goal we propose the modification of the chitosan structure by attaching to the main chain hydrophobic and cationic or anionic hydrophilic groups looking for optimize the antifungal activity. (AU)
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