Comparative studies of chitosan and its nanoparticles for the adsorption efficiency of various dyes.

Chitosan has been considered as a chelating agent with the potential for the adsorption of dyes, metal ions and proteins. This study was aimed to prepare and characterize different fungal chitosan nanoparticles (FCI-1 to FCI-6 NPs) by ionic gelation method and to evaluate its efficacy on the sorption of various commercial dyes. Morphological observations showed that the FCI-1 is nearly spherical in shape with particle size ranging from 2 to 30nm, as determined by electron microscopic studies. Electron micrograph revealed that FCI-1 NPs were stable even after eighteen months of storage at 4°C. Adsorption efficiencies of FCI-1 NPs and FCI-1 were estimated against various dyes such as RBB, MO, DR, NBB and CSB using spectrophotometry. Out of the dyes tested, FCI-1 NPs showed better adsorption efficiency for CSB whereas only RBB followed Langmuir isotherm. The adsorption of remaining dyes may probably be through random adsorption. The results indicated that FCI-1 NPs could be used as efficient sorbents in treating industrial dye effluents.

Fungal chitosan based nanocomposites sponges-An alternative medicine for wound dressing.

The porous structured and cell proliferative biodegradable fungal chitosan (FCS) based composites with potential antibacterial property was prepared with Aloe vera extract (ALE) and the plant Cuscuta reflexa mediated biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (CUS-AgNPS) were developed for wound dressing applications by freeze drying method. Fungal chitosan was derived from Cunninghamella elegans a species belongs the family of Zygomycetes. The CUS-AgNPS were characterized by the UV-vis spectrum, XRD and SEM. CUS-AgNPS were loaded into the FCS-ALE sponges and were characterized by UV-vis spectrum, FT-IR and SEM. The nanocomposite sponges (FCS-ALE/CUS-AgNPS) showed prominent results against the different pathogenic bacteria and did not affect the cells were tested in vitro cell viability against human dermal fibroblast cell (HDF cells) which revealed significant cell viability. Based on these observations our composite formulation (FCS/ALE/CUS-AgNPS) could be suggested potential for wound dressing applications.