Offers a comprehensive guide to the isolation, properties and applications of chitin and chitosan Chitin and Chitosan: Properties and Applications presents a comprehensive review of the isolation, properties and applications of chitin and chitosan. These promising biomaterials have the potential to be broadly applied and there is a growing market for these biopolymers in areas such as medical and pharmaceutical, packaging, agricultural, textile, cosmetics, nanoparticles and more. The authors – noted experts in the field – explore the isolation, characterization and the physical and chemical properties of chitin and chitosan. They also examine their properties such as hydrogels, immunomodulation and biotechnology, antimicrobial activity and chemical enzymatic modifications. The book offers an analysis of the myriad medical and pharmaceutical applications as well as a review of applications in other areas. In addition, the authors discuss regulations, markets and perspectives for the use of chitin and chitosan. This important book: Offers a thorough review of the isolation, properties and applications of chitin and chitosan. Contains information on the wide-ranging applications and growing market demand for chitin and chitosan Includes a discussion of current regulations and the outlook for the future Written for Researchers in academia and industry who are working in the fields of chitin and chitosan, Chitin and Chitosan: Properties and Applications offers a review of these promising biomaterials that have great potential due to their material properties and biological functionalities.

Biopolymers from Renewable Resources is a compilation of information on the diverse and useful polymers derived from agricultural, animal, and microbial sources. The volume provides insight into the diversity of polymers obtained directly from, or derived from, renewable resources. The beneficial aspects of utilizing polymers from renewable resources, when considering synthesis, pro cessing, disposal, biodegradability, and overall material life-cycle issues, suggests that this will continue to be an important and growing area of interest. The individual chapters provide information on synthesis, processing and properties for a variety of polyamides, polysaccharides, polyesters and polyphenols. The reader will have a single volume that provides a resource from which to gain initial insights into this diverse field and from which key references and contacts can be drawn. Aspects of biology, biotechnology, polymer synthesis, polymer processing and engineering, mechanical properties and biophysics are addressed to varying degrees for the specific biopolymers. The volume can be used as a reference book or as a teaching text. At the more practical level, the range of important materials derived from renewable resources is both extensive and impressive. Gels, additives, fibers, coatings and films are generated from a variety of the biopolymers reviewed in this volume. These polymers are used in commodity materials in our everyday lives, as well as in specialty products.

Chitin presents fundamental information on chitin. The enzymatic processes controlling the synthesis and the breakdown of chitin are discussed, along with its role in the fundamental mechanism of growth, differentiation, nutrition, and movement of a large number of species. This text consists of seven chapters and begins with an overview of chitin research and the rapidly increasing interest in chitin chemistry and applications. The discussion then moves to the enzymatic synthesis of chitin and chitosan and inhibition of chitin biosynthesis, along with the physicochemical characteristics of chitin and chitosan. The chapters that follow focus on chitin chemistry, chitinases and related enzymes, applications of chitin in chromatography, and industrial production and applications of chitin. The final chapter is devoted to medical applications of chitin and its oligomers, from being artificial kidney membranes and antigens against parasites to blood anticoagulants, biodegradable pharmaceutical carriers, wound healing accelerators, and microbiological media. This book will be of interest to biochemists, physicists, industrialists, botanists, entomologists, physiologists, and other scientists in a variety of disciplines, as well as graduate students wishing to undertake research about chitin.

Chitosan in Drug Delivery provides thorough insights into chitosan chemistry, collection, chemical modifications, characterization and applications in the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare fields. The book explores molecular weight, degree of deacetylation and molecular geometry, emphasizing recent advances in the field as written by academic, industry and regulatory scientists. It will be a useful resource for pharmaceutical scientists, including industrial pharmacists, analytical scientists, postgraduate students, health care professionals and regulatory scientists actively involved in pharmaceutical product and process development in natural polymers containing drug delivery. - Provides methodologies for the design, development and selection of chitosan in drug delivery for particular therapeutic applications - Includes illustrations demonstrating the mechanism of biological interaction of chitosan - Discusses the regulatory aspects and demonstrates the clinical efficacy of chitosan