Chitobiose 2HCl (CAS 577-76-4)

Chitobiose 2HCl, a diacetylchitobiose hydrochloride salt, is a biologically significant disaccharide derived from chitin, primarily utilized in biochemical research focusing on chitin and chitosan metabolism. This compound consists of two glucosamine units linked by a β-(1→4) bond, closely resembling the structural units of chitin, the second most abundant biopolymer in nature. In research, Chitobiose 2HCl serves as a specific substrate to study the activity and specificity of chitinases, enzymes responsible for hydrolyzing chitin. These studies are crucial for understanding the enzymatic degradation of chitin, which has applications in environmental biotechnology, such as bioconversion of waste biomaterials into useful products. Additionally, chitobiose is used in enzymology to probe the mechanisms by which enzymes recognize and cleave glycosidic bonds in chitin-derived substrates, offering insights into enzyme catalysis and substrate specificity. This research has broad implications for the development of biopesticides and other biotechnological applications where chitinase activity is exploited. Moreover, understanding the breakdown of chitin through chitobiose can lead to advancements in producing chitosan from chitin, which is valuable for various industrial applications, thus providing extensive data on biopolymer processing and utilization.