Topic
Chitin
About: Chitin is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 6590 publications have been published within this topic receiving 253993 citations.
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TL;DR: Purified preparations of chitin synthetase isolated from yeast cells of Mucor rouxii lend support to the granule hypothesis for the elaboration of cell wall microfibrils by end-synthesis.
Abstract: Purified preparations of chitin synthetase (EC 2.4.1.16; UDP-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose:chitin 4-beta-acetamidodeoxyglucosyltransferase), capable of forming microfibrils in vitro, were isolated from yeast cells of Mucor rouxii. Chitin synthetase was obtained either by substrate-induced liberation of bound enzyme (54,000 x g pellet) or by isolation of unbound enzyme present in the 54,000 x g supernatant of a cell-free extract. Both preparations contained ellipsoidal granules from about 350 to 1000 A diameter. Many granules exhibited a marked depression. No typical unit membrane profiles appeared in thin sections of glutaraldehyde/OsO4-fixed samples. Upon incubation with substrate and activators, chitin microfibrils were produced. The microfibrils were often found intimately associated with granules. The most common configurations were: a microfibril with a granule at one end, or two microfibrils "arising" from the same granule. These findings lend support to the granule hypothesis for the elaboration of cell wall microfibrils by end-synthesis.
99 citations
TL;DR: The results of fluorescent micrographs and scanning electronic microscope images revealed that the addition of chitin whiskers into the nanocomposite hydrogels markedly promoted the cell adhesion and proliferation of the osteoblast cells.
99 citations
TL;DR: The Mark-Houwink-Sakurada equation and the relationship between the z-average radius of gyration (Rg) and the weight-average molecular weight (Mw) were determined to be [eta] = 0.10Mw0.68 (mL), suggesting a random-coil structure for the chitin molecules in alkali conditions.
99 citations
TL;DR: The state of art concerning this polysaccharide, as well as one of its most important derivatives known as chitosan, is appraised, which has vast applications in various fields.
Abstract: Chitin is the second-most natural polysaccharide in the world, next to cellulose. The main sources of chitin are two marine crustaceans, shrimp and crab. Our objective is to appraise the state of art concerning this polysaccharide, as well as one of its most important derivatives known as chitosan. Chitosan is soluble in acidic aquous media and has vast applications in various fields. Here we briefly describe the characterization, chemical modification, de-polymerization and applications of chitin and chitosan. This review emphasizes recent papers on high value adding applications of these materials in gene therapy, drug delivery, wastewater treatment, packaging, etc.
99 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used chitin whiskers as nanofiller to improve the dimensional stability of a silk fibroin sponge by incorporating them into the sponges.
99 citations