Chitin deacetylation by enzymatic means: monitoring of deacetylation processes

A method for monitoring enzymatic deacetylation processes of natural or artificial chitin substrates as well as N-acetylchitooligosaccharides by the direct determination of the acetate released is described. Furthermore, a new assay is presented for the determination of chitin deacetylase activity employing hexa-N-acetylchitohexaose [(GlcNAc)6] as substrate and measuring the acetate released enzymatically. The Km value for (GlcNAc)6 has been determined as well as the pH and temperature dependence of activity and the thermostability of the enzyme. Finally, initial studies on the effectiveness of the enzyme on various chitin and chitosan substrates are presented.