Fungicidal and Bactericidal Activity of Chitosans with Different Molecular Weights and Copper Complexes Based on Them

This work examines the antibacterial and antifungal activity of chitosans with a deacetylation degree of 85% and molecular weights (MWs) in a wide range of values (5, 10, 50, 150 kDa), as well as copper complexes obtained on their basis. It was found that the studied chitosan activity has a certain dependence on the chitosan MW and concentration. It has been shown that the biocidal activity of copper complexes at a concentration of 0.02–01%, does not depend on the chitosan MW, but the complexes are characterized by a higher antibacterial and antifungal activity as compared to chitosan.