Fungal chitosan exhibited remarkable antimicrobial activity against E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. Chitosan was proved as an effective metal adsorbent, toward the examined metal ions, Cu2+ , Zn2+ and Pb2+ , and its adsorption capacity greatly increased with the increasing of metal concentration, especially for Cu and Zn. The scanning electron micrographs, of treated E. coli cells with fungal chitosan, indicated that the cells began to lyse and combine after 3 h of exposure and chitosan particles attached to the combined cells and, after 12 h from exposure, the entire bacterial cell walls were fully disrupted and lysed.
Therefore, fungal chitosan could be recommended, as a bioactive, renewable, ecofriendly and cost effective material, for overcoming water pollution problems, from chemical and microbial origins.