Chitin is the second largest natural polymer after cellulose, and it exists widely in nature, such as shells of crustaceans such as shrimps, crabs, insects, and cell walls of fungi. Although chitin has good biocompatibility and biodegradability, its poor solubility limits its practicality in the field of biomedicine. The product of chitin deacetylation is chitosan. Chitosan is structurally composed of D-glucosamine units, and each repeating glycoside unit has an amino group (-NH2) and two hydroxyl groups (-OH). The -NH2 group in the chitosan structural unit will be protonated to form -NH3+ ions in an acidic environment, and the free active amino group (-NH2) in the chitosan structure provides the easy…

Chitosan is the second most abundant biopolymer in the world, only less than cellulose. It is a versatile biopolymer with unique properties, and is nontoxic, biodegradable and biocompatible. Chitosan is discovered by Rouget in 1859, when the chitin was treated with hot potassium hydroxide solution. At present, chitosan is mainly extracted from shrimp shells or crab shells. Application of Chitosans Chitosan has various applications in a very wide range of fields due to its good biocompatibility, especially in pharmaceuticals (drug delivery, equipment and wound dressings), cosmetics, textile and food industries, and agriculture and the environment industry. Medical Use Chitosan is can used in medical fields. It can be used as a burn dressing and wound healing agent. After dressing…