Physicochemical Characterization of Biopolymer Chitosan Extracted from Shrimp Shells

Chitosan is a deacetylated derivative of chitin، which is a naturally abundant mucopolysaccharide، supporting the matter of crustaceans، insects، and fungi. Because of its unique properties، such as non-toxicity، biodegradability، and biocompatibility، chitosan has a wide range of applications in various fields. The objective of the present work is to extract the polymer chitosan from Persian Gulf shrimp shells. In order to determine the physicochemical characteristics of the extracted chitosan، degree of deacetylation، molecular weight، water and fat binding capacities extraction rate، and apparent viscosity were measured using a variety of techniques including viscometry، weight measurement method and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results of the study of the physicochemical properties، molecular weight (6. 7×105 Da)، degree of deacetylation (57%)، ash content as well as yield (0. 5%) of the prepared chitosan indicated that shrimp processing wastes (shrimp shells) are a good source of chitosan. The water binding capacity (521%) and fat binding capacity (327%) of the prepared chitosan are in good agreement with the other studies. The elemental analysis showed the C، H and N contents of 35. 92%، 7. 02%، and 8. 66%، respectively. In this study، the antimicrobial activity of chitosan was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The results indicated the high potential of chitosan as an antibacterial agent. Moreover، the results of the study indicated that shrimp shells are a rich source of chitin as 25. 21% of the shell’s dry weight.