Chitin and Chitosan

Properties and Applications

Lambertus A. M. van den Broek, Carmen G. Boeriu, Lambertus A. M. van den Broek, Carmen G. Boeriu, Christian V. Stevens

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9781119450436
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781119450474
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Chemistry
• Index: Chemistry

Offers a comprehensive guide to the isolation, properties and applications of chitin and chitosan 

Chitin and Chitosan: Properties and Applications presents a comprehensive review of the isolation, properties and applications of chitin and chitosan. These promising biomaterials have the potential to be broadly applied and there is a growing market for these biopolymers in areas such as medical and pharmaceutical, packaging, agricultural, textile, cosmetics, nanoparticles and more.

The authors – noted experts in the field – explore the isolation, characterization and the physical and chemical properties of chitin and chitosan. They also examine their properties such as hydrogels, immunomodulation and biotechnology, antimicrobial activity and chemical enzymatic modifications. The book offers an analysis of the myriad medical and pharmaceutical applications as well as a review of applications in other areas. In addition, the authors discuss regulations, markets and perspectives for the use of chitin and chitosan.  This important book:

• Offers a thorough review of the isolation, properties and applications of chitin and chitosan.
• Contains information on the wide-ranging applications and growing market demand for chitin and chitosan
• Includes a discussion of current regulations and the outlook for the future

Written for Researchers in academia and industry who are working in the fields of chitin and chitosan, Chitin and Chitosan: Properties and Applications offers a review of these promising biomaterials that have great potential due to their material properties and biological functionalities.

1
Sources of Chitin and Chitosan and their Isolation

Leen Bastiaens, Lise Soetemans, Els D’Hondt, and Kathy Elst

VITO – (Flemish Institute for Technological Research), Mol, Belgium

Chitin is a natural biomolecule that was reported for the first time in 1811 by the French professor Henri Braconnot as fungine [1] and in 1823 by Antoine Odier as chitin. Chitin consists of large, crystalline nitrogen‐containing polysaccharides made of chains of a modified glucose monosaccharide, being N‐acetylglucosamine. It is ubiquitously present in the world and has even been reported to be one of the most abundant biomolecules on earth, with an estimated annual production of 10¹¹–10¹⁴ tons [2, 3]. Chitin serves as template for biomineralization such as calcification and silicification, providing preferential sites for nucleation, and controlling the location and orientation of mineral phases [4, 5]. This phenomenon explains the presence of chitin in solid structures in a variety of biomass such as cell walls of fungi and diatoms and in exoskeletons of Crustaceans. Chitin is present in diverse structures in at least 19 animal phyla besides its presence in bacteria, fungi, and algae [5].

Chitosan is mainly known as a partially deacetylated derivative of chitin that is more water soluble than chitin, and as such is easier to process. For this reason, chitosan—and, in some cases, even more preferably, the relatively small sized (1–10 kDa) chitosan oligomers—are the molecules that are envisioned for multiple applications such as agriculture; water and wastewater treatment; food and beverages; chemicals; feed; cosmetics; and personal care [6, 7]. In addition, chitosan oligomers have been reported as being bioactive [8], offering potential for application in, for instance, wound dressing and cosmetics. Although chitin and chitosan are versatile and promising biomaterials [9], the extraction and purification of chitin and its conversion to chitosan (oligomers) require several process steps, and these have been mentioned as bottlenecks that hinder the wider use of the underspent chitin in the world.

This chapter intends to provide more information related to (1) the structure of chitin, (2) sources of chitin and chitosan, and (3) their extraction and purification, as well as (4) the conversion of chitin into chitosan. The further conversion of chitosan to chitosan oligomers is the subject of Chapter 3.

1.1 Chitin and Chitosan

1.1.1 Chemical Structure

Chitin, and its derivate chitosan, are natural polysaccharides consisting of 2 monosaccharides, N‐acetyl‐D‐glucosamine and D‐glucosamine, connected by β‐1,4‐ glycoside bonds. Depending on the frequency of the latter monosaccharides, the molecule is defined as c...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• List of Contributors
• Series Preface
• Preface
• 1 Sources of Chitin and Chitosan and their Isolation
• 2 Methods of Isolating Chitin from Sponges (Porifera)
• 3 Physicochemical Properties of Chitosan and its Degradation Products
• 4 New Developments in the Analysis of Partially Acetylated Chitosan Polymers and Oligomers*
• 5 Chitosan‐Based Hydrogels
• 6 Beneficial Health Effects of Chitin and Chitosan
• 7 Antimicrobial Properties of Chitin and Chitosan
• 8 Enzymes for Modification of Chitin and Chitosan
• 9 Chitin and Chitosan as Sources of Bio‐Based Building Blocks and Chemicals
• 10 Chemical and Enzymatic Modification of Chitosan to Produce New Functional Materials with Improved Properties
• 11 Chitosan‐Based DrugDelivery Systems
• 12 The Application of Chitin and its Derivatives for the Design of Advanced Medical Devices
• 13 Food Applications of Chitosan and its Derivatives
• 14 Potential of Chitosans in the Development of Edible Food Packaging
• 15 The Use of Chitosan‐Based Nanoformulations for Controlling Fungi During Storage of Horticultural Commodities
• 16 Chitosan Application in Textile Processing and Fabric Coating
• 17 Chitin and Chitosan for Water Purification
• 18 Chitosan for Sensors and Electrochemical Applications
• 19 Marketing and Regulations of Chitin and Chitosan from Insects
• Index
• End User License Agreement