Chitosan CAS#9012-76-4

Chitosan is also known as chitosan, deacetylated chitosan, deacylated chitosan, soluble chitin, and soluble chitin. It is an amorphous solid that is almost insoluble in water, but soluble in organic acids such as formic acid, acetic acid, benzoic acid, and cyclohexane acid, as well as dilute inorganic acids. Industrial products are white or off-white translucent flaky solids with a slight pearly luster. It is odorless, non-toxic, and easily degradable, and is a rare natural cationic polyelectrolyte. It is a polysaccharide obtained by removing the acetyl groups on the chitin glycosides using strong alkaline hydrolysis or enzymatic decomposition. It is soluble in low-acidity aqueous solutions, has good biocompatibility, is non-antigenic, and is insoluble in human body fluids. It is obtained by using chitosan, which is widely present in nature and is found in the shells of lower animals and plants, such as arthropods (shrimp and crabs), as the raw material, through a deacetylation reaction with alkali and heating.

Chitosan is a biocompatible, antibacterial, and biodegradable polyelectrolyte with a wide range of biomedical and industrial applications, primarily in the food, pharmaceutical, agricultural seed, daily chemical, and industrial wastewater treatment sectors. Chitosan oligosaccharides have been shown to enhance immunity, activate cells, prevent cancer, lower blood lipids and blood pressure, combat aging, and regulate the body's environment, finding applications in medicine, healthcare, and the food sector. In the environmental protection sector, chitosan can be used in wastewater treatment, protein recovery, and water purification. In the functional materials sector, chitosan can be used as membrane materials, carriers, adsorbents, fibers, and medical materials. In the textile industry, chitosan can be used in fabric finishing, health-care underwear, and papermaking additives. In the agricultural sector, chitosan can be used as a feed additive, seed treatment, soil improvement, and fruit preservation. In the tobacco industry, chitosan is a high-performance tobacco sheet adhesive, improving taste and burning without toxicity or odor.