Extraction and characterization of chitin and chitosan from fishery waste by chemical method

• Chitin and chitosan were extracted from the fish scales by chemical method.
• Investigated and characterized the extracted chitin and chitosan.
• FTIR analysis gave the most accurate DD value.

After cellulose, chitin is the most widespread biopolymer available in nature. Chitin has economic value because of its biological activities, industrial and biomedical applications. There are three sources of chitin, namely crustaceans, insects and microorganism. The commercial sources of chitin are shells of crustaceans such as shrimp, crabs, lobsters and krill. In the present study, chitin has been extracted from locally available fish in Rourkela. The obtained chitin was converted into the more useful chitosan. The obtained chitin and chitosan have been characterized by using different techniques like spectral analysis, X-ray diffraction, Elemental analysis, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). XRD analysis indicated the crystalline nature of the chitin and chitosan. The FTIR patterns displayed the bands corresponding to stretching and vibration of O-H, N-H and CO bonds and conformed the formation of αα-chitin. Degree of deacetylation (DD) value was calculated using elemental analysis, potentiometric titration and FTIR. Using FTIR analysis DD value was found to be 61%.

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