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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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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Chitin and the matrix proteins Serp and Verm limit tube elongation, and it suggests that tube length is controlled independently of diameter by modulating physical properties of the chitin ECM, presumably by N-deacetylation of chit in and conversion to chitosan.

301 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: After cellulose, chitin is the most widespread biopolymer in nature and has great economic value because of their biological activities and their industrial and biomedical applications.
Abstract: Summary After cellulose, chitin is the most widespread biopolymer in nature. Chitin and its derivatives have great economic value because of their biological activities and their industrial and biomedical applications. It can be extracted from three sources, namely crustaceans, insects and microorganisms. However, the main commercial sources of chitin are shells of crustaceans such as shrimps, crabs, lobsters and krill that are supplied in large quantities by the shellfish processing industries. Extraction of chitin involves two steps, demineralisation and deproteinisation, which can be conducted by two methods, chemical or biological. The chemical method requires the use of acids and bases, while the biological method involves microorganisms. Although lactic acid bacteria are mainly applied, other microbial species including proteolytic bacteria have also been successfully implemented, as well as mixed cultures involving lactic acid-producing bacteria and proteolytic microorganisms. The produced lactic acid allows shell demineralisation, since lactic acid reacts with calcium carbonate, the main mineral component, to form calcium lactate.

301 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review article discusses the most recent progress in the preparation and application of chitin and chitosan based nanofibrous materials in biomedical fields.
Abstract: Over the past several decades, we have witnessed significant progress in chitosan and chitin based nanostructured materials. The nanofibers from chitin and chitosan with appealing physical and biological features have attracted intense attention due to their excellent biological properties related to biodegradability, biocompatibility, antibacterial activity, low immunogenicity and wound healing capacity. Various methods, such as electrospinning, self-assembly, phase separation, mechanical treatment, printing, ultrasonication and chemical treatment were employed to prepare chitin and chitosan nanofibers. These nanofibrous materials have tremendous potential to be used as drug delivery systems, tissue engineering scaffolds, wound dressing materials, antimicrobial agents, and biosensors. This review article discusses the most recent progress in the preparation and application of chitin and chitosan based nanofibrous materials in biomedical fields.

299 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results indicate that the Chi-N, alone or with extracellular matrix proteins (particularly type I collagen), could be potential candidates for the cell attachment and spreading of normal human keratinocytes and fibroblasts.

298 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Outstanding features are the materials' mechanical and chemical properties which offer numerous, largely unexplored applications in technology, chemistry, medicine, and agriculture.
Abstract: A survey on the properties of the natural nitrogen-containing polysaccharides chitin and chitosan is given Outstanding features are the materials' mechanical and chemical properties which offer numerous, largely unexplored applications in technology, chemistry, medicine, and agriculture Derivatives of chitin and chitosan are accessible by reactions of the hydroxy and amino groups with appropriate reagents Various types of gels, membranes, and fibers, including polycationic and watersoluble materials, can be formed Production of chitin and chitosan from waste crab shells involves environmentally safe processes The polysaccharides are recycled in nature by enzymatic degradation and reuse of N-acetylglucosamine for biosynthesis and catabolism Research deficits exist in economically competitive production technologies, construction of composite materials, and the ecological aspects of chemically modified chitosan

296 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023434
2022868
2021271
2020354
2019333
2018271