Facilitated Method for Production of Chitin and Chitosan from Shrimp Shells

Chitin and its valuable derivative chitosan are among the most important natural polymers in the world and offer a set of unique properties: biocompatibility, biodegradability for harmless products, non-toxicity, physiological inertness, antibacterial properties, chelation of heavy metals ions. gelling properties, considerable hydrophilicity and remarkable affinity for proteins. The main resources exploited are two marine crustaceans; shrimp and crab. In the present study, our aim is to produce chitin and chitosan and compare their properties with commercial properties. Due to the possibility of industrial and mass production, pre-purification methods were used to produce standard chitin and chitosan. In this regard, after the treatment of the shrimp, their shells were further cleaned and facilitated for the processes of demineralization, deproteinization, and deacetylation. Deproteinization was done with ۱ M of sodium hydroxide and demineralized with ۱%, ۲%, ۳%, ۴% and ۵% of hydrochloric acid, respectively. This method showed the high purity of chitin and chitosan with less than ۱% protein residue along with high molecular weight and high crystallinity. The produced chitin and chitosan were characterized by FTIR and XRD analyses. It was found that the surface morphology of chitin increases with increasing acid concentration. According to our study, the best degree of deacetylation (%DD) was ۸۸.۷۶ %. This modified approach has the potential for large-scale production due to ease of operation and reduced environmental issues

کلیدواژه ها:

Chitin ، Chitosan ، Shrimp Byproducts ، Deproteinization ، Degree of Deacetylation