An overview of the applications of chitin and chitosan in different industries

Chitin is found in the external skeleton of insects, the shell of crustaceans and the fungal cell wall. Chitin with the formula B-1, 4 N- acetyl glucosamine, it was first identified in 1884. Countries such as India, Japan, Poland and Australia are among the main producers of this biopolymer.

In this research, the structure and importance of chitin and one of its valuable derivatives, chitosan, have been studied. Chitin is a hard substance with a crystalline structure and white color. The main source of industrial chitin production in the world is shell waste from shrimp and crab processing industries. Chitosan is a derivative of chitin obtained by deacetylation of chitin. In fact, chitosan is a composite polymer of glucose amine and N-acetylglucose amine, which are connected by 1 and 4 glycosidic bonds. Due to the presence of amino groups in the structure of chitosan, this substance has better solubility in acidic environments.

Due to the unique properties of chitin and chitosan, its use in various industries such as water engineering, paper industry, textile industry, food processing, agriculture, laboratory (chromatography), solid state batteries, chitosan gel for LED, it has been reported in medical and biological fields including tissue engineering, wound healing/wound dressing, ophthalmology.

In general, chitin and chitosan are used in all mentioned fields. The use of these healthy and environmentally friendly compounds, especially in the field of medicine and other industries, is very economical and profitable.