ABSTRACT
Natural polymers such as proteins and polysaccharides are mainly used in the pharmaceutical eld. Among them, a polysaccharide analog chitin is the most abundantly used, second only to cellulose (Cohen 1993). It is mostly derived from the exoskeleton of crustaceans and has a wide range of application in various elds (Inmaculada Aranaz et al. 2009). Chitosan, a derivative of chitin, is
25.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................463 25.2 Synthesis of Chitin and Chitosan .........................................................................................464 25.3 Properties of Chitin and Chitosan ........................................................................................465
