ABSTRACT
Interest in natural biopolymers for diversied applications in life is increasing because of its favorable properties such as availability from replenishable agricultural or marine food resources, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Chitosan a natural polysaccharide derived from crustacean shell waste is of great importance because of its ecological safety and the possibility of preparing chemically modied derivaties for specic end uses. It consists mainly of β(1-4)-2-amino-2-deoxyd-glucopyranose and a small amount of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (Figure 35.1). Chitosan can be obtained by the deacetylation of chitin, which is the constituent component of the exoskeleton of arthropod, crustacean shells, and cuticles of insects (Muzzarelli 1977). Chitin ranks second to cellulose as the most plentiful organic compound on earth.
