Current state of chitin purification and chitosan production from insects

Abstract

Chitin, and especially its deacetylated variant chitosan, has many applications, e.g. as carrier material for pharmaceutical drugs or as a flocculant in wastewater treatment. Despite its versatility and accessibility, chitin, the second most abundant polysaccharide on Earth, has so far been commercially extracted only from crustaceans and to a minor extent from fungi. Insects are a viable alternative source of chitin, but they have not been exploited in the past due to limited availability. Today however, for the sustainable production of animal feed, insect farming is being developed substantially. The availability of large quantities of insect biomass and chitin-rich side products such as exuviae and exoskeletons has been increasing. This review provides an overview of recently published studies of chitin extraction from insects, its subsequent conversion into chitosan and the primary analytical methods used to characterize insect-based chitin and chitosan. We have discovered a large number of research articles published over the past 20 years, confirming the increased attention being received by chitin and chitosan production from insects. Despite numerous publications, we identified several knowledge gaps, such as a lack of data concerning chitin purification degree and chitosan yield. Furthermore, analytical methods used to obtain physicochemical characteristics, structural information and chemical composition meet basic qualitative requirements but do not satisfy the need for a more quantitative evaluation. Despite the current shortcomings that need to be overcome, this review presents encouraging data on the use of insects as an alternative source of chitin and chitosan in the future.

Isolation of Chitin from Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) and Its Usage to Metal Sorption

“…Another source of chitin is sponge skeleton [ 17 , 18 ]. Yet another source of chitin are insects [ 19 , 20 , 21 ] and among them is H ermetia illucens , also known as the black soldier fly or black fly [ 3 , 22 , 23 ].…”

An approach to change the basic polymer composition of the milled Fomes fomentarius fruiting bodies

“…Other rationale includes rapid growing market of chitin and chitosan application, in particular in food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, biomedical, chemical, agriculture, biotechnological and textile industries [ 4 , 5 , 9 ]. From 5 to 32% chitin and chitosan could be recovered from crustacean shells [ 19 ]. Among the disadvantages of the mostly used chemical methods, a lot of alkali and acid waste as well as remaining protein rests that can elicit allergic reactions in sensitized peoples should be mentioned [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Bringing Homogeneous Iron Catalysts on the Heterogeneous Side: Solutions for Immobilization

“…It is the main constituent of the exoskeleton of numerous animal species such as butterflies and ladybugs, but also shrimps, crabs, lobsters, and numerous other crustaceans. The food waste from the fish industry is today the main source of chitin and it is extracted through a process of decalcification, deproteination and removal of pigments [ 103 , 104 , 105 ].…”