Application of Spectroscopic Methods for Structural Analysis of Chitin and Chitosan

Marine Drugs

Jolanta Kumirska¹  Małgorzata Czerwicka¹  Zbigniew Kaczyński¹  Anna Bychowska¹  Krzysztof Brzozowski¹  Jorg Thöming² 

[1] Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdansk, Sobieskiego 18/19, PL-80-952 Gdansk, Poland; E-Mails:;UFT-Centre for Environmental Research and Sustainable Technology, University of Bremen, Leobener Straße UFT, D-28359 Bremen, Germany; E-Mail:

关键词: chitin;    chitosan;    chemical modification;    physicochemical parameters;    structural analysis using spectroscopic techniques;   

DOI  :  10.3390/md8051567

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Chitin, the second most important natural polymer in the world, and its N-deacetylated derivative chitosan, have been identified as versatile biopolymers for a broad range of applications in medicine, agriculture and the food industry. Two of the main reasons for this are firstly the unique chemical, physicochemical and biological properties of chitin and chitosan, and secondly the unlimited supply of raw materials for their production. These polymers exhibit widely differing physicochemical properties depending on the chitin source and the conditions of chitosan production. The presence of reactive functional groups as well as the polysaccharide nature of these biopolymers enables them to undergo diverse chemical modifications. A complete chemical and physicochemical characterization of chitin, chitosan and their derivatives is not possible without using spectroscopic techniques. This review focuses on the application of spectroscopic methods for the structural analysis of these compounds.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2010 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland