Chitin

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.