Chitin Depolymerization: Medical Applications

Abstract

Chitin, a β(1-4) linked N-acetyl-D-glucosamine polysaccharide, has come to the forefront of biomaterial research as a novel material, being studied for its great biocompatibility and biodegradability properties as well as its great mechanical properties. The potential biomedical application includes surgical threads for sutures and wound-healing materials. The development of these applications is affected by the chitin molecular weight, as such commercial-grade chitin requires depolymerization. In this work, it was achieved using a 2 GeV deuteron beam to induce depolymerization from 6.8 to 5.4 ×10⁹ g/mole.