EXTRACTION, CHARACTERIZATION AND PROPERTIES OF CHITIN AND CHITOSAN OF NIGERIAN ORIGIN

摘要

Isolation of chitin and chitosan are being intensified due to their usage in several applications. In this study, extraction of chitin and chitosan was carried out on crab shell using chemical method with 1.2M of HC1 and 1M of NaOH at 100°C. This was followed by deacetylation of chitin to produce chitosan. The extracts were characterized using SEM, FTIR, DTA and XRD. The FTIR of chitin and chitosan reveal the absorption bands of 3460,3268,1660, 1558, 1157 cm-1 and 3460, 3267, 3111, 2931, 1662, 1628, 696 cm-1 respectively These compare well with the standard spectral for chitin and chitosan. The DTA plot shows that the degradation temperature of chitin and chitosan are 388°C and 342°C respectively. The micrograph of chitin and chitosan showed globules of rough crystals, and long thin structure respectively laying on a smooth elastic black surface, suggesting that they could form a fibre for suture, scaffold, fibrous mat, for biomedical application.