Methods of Chitin Production a Short Review| Biomed Grid

In addition to be the second most abundant natural polymer in nature, a renown has a great potential as a biomaterial in the area of biotechnology, because it is biocompatible, bio reactive and biodegradable [1,2]. Such characteristics, diverse applications in areas such as agriculture, food, environmental, and as two areas with greater focus: pharmaceutical and health [3,4]. Its structure consists of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine units with β- (1,4) bonds, having as main characteristic the insolubility in water and some organic acids [5]. Chitin belongs to the group of structural polysaccharides, together with cellulose, the second polymer being more abundant in the biosphere [6-9]. Due to its structural nature, a product release system was not found in any of the arthropod exoskeleton, in the structures of molluscs [10], in the cell wall of fungi [11,12], protozoa and bacteria, egg shells of nematodes [13,14], the shrimp fishery residue being the most widely used source [15].Throughout the decades of research and handling of this polymer, many methods of extraction have been developed, being the chemical method most found in the literature, being also used in the means of production of industrial chitin.