Chitin is the most abundant natural amino polysaccharide and is estimated to be produced annually almost as much as cellulose. It has become of great interest not only as an underutilized resource, but also as a new functional material of high potential in various fields, and recent progress in chitin chemistry is quite noteworthy. The purpose of this review is to take a closer look at chitin and chitosan applications. Based on current research and existing products, some new and futuristic approaches in this fascinating area are thoroughly discussed.

A review of chitin and chitosan applications

Chitin is the world's second most abundant naturally occurring polysaccharide. Much of this is disposed of as waste from seafood crustacean, mainly in shrimps, prawns, crabs, and lobsters, where it occurs as a significant component in the shells/exoskeletons of crustacea. Due to its widespread abundance, its chemical and physical versatility, and the problems of its disposal as a waste material, a wide range of value-added applications of chitin and chitosan is being initiated, investigated, and developed. The widely ranging value-added applications of chitin and chitosan are presented in this review. Chitin and its derivative, chitosan, both highly stable and difficult to degrade materials, can be obtained as 10–20% w/w from the waste seafood shells by suitable chemical processing. One of the significant developments in the new range of applications is the study of the ability of chitosan, as a potentially major environmental treatment material, to remove metal ions from wastewaters. Chitosan is the deac...

Application of Chitosan for the Removal of Metals From Wastewaters by Adsorption—Mechanisms and Models Review

Novel carboxymethyl derivatives of chitin and chitosan materials and their biomedical applications

There is a greater demand for antimicrobial finishes on textile goods because consumers have become aware of the potential advantages of these materials. A number of other chemicals are also used i...

Review of Chitosan and Its Derivatives as Antimicrobial Agents and Their Uses as Textile Chemicals

Evaluation of different absorbance ratios from infrared spectroscopy for analyzing the degree of deacetylation in chitin

Several methods for the rapid determination of the degree of acetylation of chitin and related polymers have been evaluated, including the use of the infrared and the mass spectra.

C. Peniche-Covas

Papers

Determination of the degree of acetylation of chitin and chitosan by thermal analysis