Polysaccharide-based biomaterials are an emerging class in several biomedical fields such as tissue regeneration, particularly for cartilage, drug delivery devices and gelentrapment systems for the immobilization of cells. Important properties of the polysaccharides include controllable biological activity, biodegradability, and their ability to form hydrogels. Most of the polysaccharides used ...

Chitinolytic bacteria are believed to be the primary aetiological agents of shell disease syndrome in marine crustaceans. The disease principally results from the breakdown of their chitinous exoskeletons by the shell disease pathogens, but pathogenicity may also manifest internally should a breach of the carapace occur. The current study looks at the pathogenicity of a number of bacteria (pred...

Hermit crabs are ever alert for more suitable shells to inhabit, but what this may mean for coastal shell middens has rarely been considered. Here, the impact of the most landward-based of hermit crab families, the tropical Coenobitidae, upon archaeological shell-bearing deposits is assessed using a case study: the Neolithic Ugaga site from Fiji. At Ugaga, hermit crabs were found to have remove...

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a major environmental consequence of mining activity. This is a recurring problem around the world, and especially in some specific areas of United States, including Pennsylvania. Remediation of AMD has three requirements: pH neutralization, reduction of sulfate concentrations, and removal of dissolved metals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sustainable was...

Biodegradation of lobster shells by chitinolytic microorganisms are an environment safe approach to utilize lobster processing wastes for chitin derivation. In this study, we report degradation activities of two microbes, "S223" and "S224" isolated from soil samples that had the highest rate of deproteinization, demineralization and chitinolysis among ten microorganisms screened. Isolates S223 ...

Crab-shell chitin was evaluated as a multifunctional substrate for treating acid mine drainage (AMD) in both batch-microcosms and continuous-flow column tests. In microcosms, crab-shell chitin was able to treat AMD from three different sites with similar results: pH increased from 3.5 to approximately 7.5 within 2 days; alkalinity increased at a rate of 37.9+/-2.2 mg CaCO(3)/L day; and sulfate ...

Three-dimensional porous and defect-rich nitrogen-doped nanocarbon is successfully prepared by facile pyrolysis of crab shell-derived chitin nanofiber paper, delivering promising performance in both photosensing energy storage.

This article reports a successful removal of CaCO3 from snail and periwinkle shells for the purpose of producing high quality chitin for possible application as bio-fillers in bone fixation materials. Experiment was designed with varying concentrations of acid and alkali for demineralization, deproteinization and deacetylation of the samples. Thermal characteristics, morphology, degree of de-ac...

·imÛnek J . , BartoÀová H.: Effect of dietary chitin and chitosan on cholesterolemia of rats. Acta Vet. Brno 2005, 74: 491-499. Chitin – chitosan is being advertised as a food supplement that effectively lowers blood cholesterol concentration and controls obesity. The lard-fed rat was chosen because this model shares similarities with human hypercholesterolemia. The male rats were divided into ...

Preparation of Phenolic nanocomposites with the help of solvent casting technique was carried out by dispersing the chitin nano particles in water soluble phenol formaldehyde (PF). The nanocomposites were prepared by using water suspended chitin whisker as the reinforced phase and water soluble phenol formaldehyde (PF) as matrix. In the present work, crab shell originated chitin whisker was pro...