Chitin, Chitosan, and Related Enzymes documents the proceedings of a four-day joint United States-Japan seminar held at the University of Delaware. The said seminar is aimed to explore the potential of the application of chitin, chitosan, and related products in different scientific fields. The book is divided into six parts. Part I covers the application of chitin and chitosan to pharmaceutical preparations. Part II discusses the applications of chitin and its derivatives. Part III features chitin and chitosan in relation to enzymology and genetic engineering. Respectively covered in Parts IV, V, and VI are the chemical and physical structure of chitin and chitosan; biochemical and physiological properties of chitin and its derivatives; the effects of phosphate on chitin production; and the development of chitin as a suture as well as for orthopedic uses. The text is recommended for biochemists who would like to know more or make further studies about the different applications of chitin, chitosan, and related enzymes.

Biopolymers from Renewable Resources is a compilation of information on the diverse and useful polymers derived from agricultural, animal, and microbial sources. The volume provides insight into the diversity of polymers obtained directly from, or derived from, renewable resources. The beneficial aspects of utilizing polymers from renewable resources, when considering synthesis, pro cessing, disposal, biodegradability, and overall material life-cycle issues, suggests that this will continue to be an important and growing area of interest. The individual chapters provide information on synthesis, processing and properties for a variety of polyamides, polysaccharides, polyesters and polyphenols. The reader will have a single volume that provides a resource from which to gain initial insights into this diverse field and from which key references and contacts can be drawn. Aspects of biology, biotechnology, polymer synthesis, polymer processing and engineering, mechanical properties and biophysics are addressed to varying degrees for the specific biopolymers. The volume can be used as a reference book or as a teaching text. At the more practical level, the range of important materials derived from renewable resources is both extensive and impressive. Gels, additives, fibers, coatings and films are generated from a variety of the biopolymers reviewed in this volume. These polymers are used in commodity materials in our everyday lives, as well as in specialty products.

Offers a comprehensive guide to the isolation, properties and applications of chitin and chitosan Chitin and Chitosan: Properties and Applications presents a comprehensive review of the isolation, properties and applications of chitin and chitosan. These promising biomaterials have the potential to be broadly applied and there is a growing market for these biopolymers in areas such as medical and pharmaceutical, packaging, agricultural, textile, cosmetics, nanoparticles and more. The authors – noted experts in the field – explore the isolation, characterization and the physical and chemical properties of chitin and chitosan. They also examine their properties such as hydrogels, immunomodulation and biotechnology, antimicrobial activity and chemical enzymatic modifications. The book offers an analysis of the myriad medical and pharmaceutical applications as well as a review of applications in other areas. In addition, the authors discuss regulations, markets and perspectives for the use of chitin and chitosan. This important book: Offers a thorough review of the isolation, properties and applications of chitin and chitosan. Contains information on the wide-ranging applications and growing market demand for chitin and chitosan Includes a discussion of current regulations and the outlook for the future Written for Researchers in academia and industry who are working in the fields of chitin and chitosan, Chitin and Chitosan: Properties and Applications offers a review of these promising biomaterials that have great potential due to their material properties and biological functionalities.

The fish processing industry is still far from the levels of scientific and technological development that characterize other food processing oper ations. It has also been slow in finding uses for by-products and processing wastes, compared with the meat and poultry industries. The utilization of fisheries by-products or wastes constitutes an area in which the application of modern techniques could potentially improve profitability. At present, increased attention is being focused on the application of new biotechnological methods to operations related to the seafood industry, with the objective of increasing its general efficiency. Because fish processing operations are commonly carried out in the vicinity of the sea, most of the resulting fish wastes have been disposed of by returning them to it. Pollution control measures and a better understanding of the valuable composition of the products extracted from the sea are expected to encourage their recovery and the develop ment of new products from them. In the past, fisheries wastes and species not used for food have been generally utilized through techno logical processes with a low level of sophistication, such as those for the production of animal feed and fertilizer. Limited economic success has accompanied the application of physi cal and chemical processes for the recovery of non-utilized fisheries biomass and for the production of quality products from them.

Chitin presents fundamental information on chitin. The enzymatic processes controlling the synthesis and the breakdown of chitin are discussed, along with its role in the fundamental mechanism of growth, differentiation, nutrition, and movement of a large number of species. This text consists of seven chapters and begins with an overview of chitin research and the rapidly increasing interest in chitin chemistry and applications. The discussion then moves to the enzymatic synthesis of chitin and chitosan and inhibition of chitin biosynthesis, along with the physicochemical characteristics of chitin and chitosan. The chapters that follow focus on chitin chemistry, chitinases and related enzymes, applications of chitin in chromatography, and industrial production and applications of chitin. The final chapter is devoted to medical applications of chitin and its oligomers, from being artificial kidney membranes and antigens against parasites to blood anticoagulants, biodegradable pharmaceutical carriers, wound healing accelerators, and microbiological media. This book will be of interest to biochemists, physicists, industrialists, botanists, entomologists, physiologists, and other scientists in a variety of disciplines, as well as graduate students wishing to undertake research about chitin.

Biopolymers found in marine animals and plants offer tremendous, largely untapped pharmaceutical potential. Research shows that these biopolymers can be used to combat various infectious as well as inflammatory, oxidative, and carcinogenic factors. Chitin, Chitosan, Oligosaccharides and Their Derivatives: Biological Activities and Applications cove

This book reviews recent research and applications of chitin and chitosan, as natural alternatives of fossil fuel products, in green chemistry, energy, biotechnology, bioprinting, medicine, water treatment, agriculture and food science. Chitin and chitosan products are polysaccharides derived from food waste of crustaceans and fungi, and thus are cheap, abundant, sustainable, non-toxic, recyclable and biocompatible.

Methods of Analysis and Characterization.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of chitin biology and chitin metabolism related enzymes. Chitin, the second most abundant biopolymer in nature after to cellulose, is a linear biopolymer composed of β-1,4-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), and an essential component in the exoskeletons of insects, mites, ticks and crustaceans, the egg shells of parasitic nematodes, and fungal cell walls. Although some chitin-containing organisms are a threat to human health, food safety and agricultural production, non-chitin containing organisms like humans, mammals and plants have an innate immune response to these hazardous organisms. The book provides researchers and students with information on the recent research advances concerning the biology of chitin-containing organisms as well as cross-talks between chitin-containing and non-chitin-containing organisms. Highlighting chitin remodeling enzymes and inhibitors, it also offers drug developers essential insights into designing specific molecules for the control of hazardous chitin-containing organisms.