THE MECHANISM OF CHITOSAN INTERACTION WITH PROTEINS
Chitosan is a cationic polyelectrolyte at low pH values (pKa < 6.5). Due to chemical nature, chitosan is able to form different types of chemical bonds: ionic, hydrogen, hydrophobic. The formation of complexes of proteins with chitosan may be accompanied with different intra- and intermolecular interactions with protein globules, formation of coacervates of different size, shape, charge, degree of hydration. It was shown that the main contribution to the formation of insoluble chitosan-protein complex is made by electrostatic forces. In the study the formation of complexes of chitosan with proteins in conditions with different pH, ionic strength of the medium were investigated. The resulting patterns of interactions between proteins of milk serum with chitosan formed the basis for the development of sorbents based on this polysaccharide.