Preparation of Water-Soluble Colloidal Chitin (WSCC) from Prawn Waste and Its Characterization

Abstract

Chitin, the shell material of prawn, is a biodegradable polymer and environmentally biocompatible with low toxicity. Chitosan is the deacetylated form of chitin, which consists of poly-D-glucosamine units with no or few N-acetyl-D-glucosamine units. Commercial applications of these natural polymers are increasing in various sectors. Therefore, in addition to the environmental benefit, it may be economical to recover chitin from prawn waste. Chitosan is soluble in various organic acids, solvents and water. The poor solubility of chitin is the major limiting factor in its use in industrial applications. Number of studies have investigated to overcome the solubility problem of chitin. This research focuses on a new way of developing water-soluble colloidal chitin (WSCC) from prawn waste and investigates its fundamental rheological and antibacterial properties. WSCC films studied during this research may be used in food packaging or in medical applications. The use of WSCC biodegradable films will protect the environment in the future and will be an effective alternative to plastics that threatens the environment. The antibacterial study may be applied in pharmaceutical, medical and food packaging and coating applications. This research was conducted at the University of New South Wales, Australia in 2008.