Separation of Chitosan from Penicillium Chrysogenum Mycelium and its Applications

A process to separate chitosan from Penicillium chrysogenum mycelium was developed. Alkaline treatment and acetic acid extraction were used for deacetylating chitin to chitosan. The molecular weight of the chitosan was 3.6 × 10 ⁴ and the degree of deacetylation was 84%. Analysis indicated that the chitosan from Penicillium chrysogenum mycelium was similar to that obtained from shrimp. The chitosan from the mycelium was used to prepare microcapsules for controlled drug release. The chitosan microcapsules reached maximum release of vitamin D ₂ after 10 h which avoided the problem of instability in gastric juice; the chitosan microcapsules are suitable for adsorption of vitamin D ₂ in intestines.