Chitosan Extraction

[kevin81797]

Hello,

I am a high school student who is interested in conducting research that will involve the extraction of chitosan from crab shells.

I need help with the extraction of chitosan from them. I found some procedures online that were used in past research studies, but they're just an overview. I need the exact procedure, step-by-step. Which chemicals to use, what concentration or amount, etc.

This information is vital to my project. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[JorgeLobo]

Kevin - sorry so late with a response - i missed your post. There's not so much chitosan in crab shell as chitin. to convert to chitosan, you'll need to deacetylate the chitin. You'd do this by heating in caustic (aq. NaOH). Washed rsidue (chityosan) can then be dissolved in aqueous mineral or organic acid. These are a hazardous steps (esp.with caustic) that I'm not sure a high school student would have the experience to perform safely.