Evaluation of α-Chitosan from Crab Shell and β-Chitosan from Squid Gladius Based on Biochemistry Performance

Featured Application New trends on marine biomaterials. The objective of this study is to innovatively evaluate the biochemistry performance of alpha-chitosan from Portunus trituberculatus shell and beta-chitosan from Illex argentinus squid gladius by using the weighted composite index method, and provide a theoretical basis for better development and utilization of chitosan biomedical materials. To build a composite evaluation system, seven key indicators, including molecular weight (M-w), deacetylation degree (DD), water binding capacity (WBC), fat binding capacity (FBC), thermal stability (TS), primary structure and secondary structure, which significantly affect chitosan biochemical characteristics, were determined and analyzed. The viscosity average M-w of chitosan was in the range of 22.5-377.1 kDa, and the DD was 83.4-97.8%. Thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses of commercial chitosan (CS), crab chitosan (CSC) and squid chitosan (CSS) showed a downward trend in TS, while WBC and FBC showed an obvious upward trend. FT-IR had a similar profile in peak shape, but the peak position slightly shifted. CD indicated that chitosan maintained the double helix structure and multiple secondary structural elements. The composite weighted index values of CS, CSC and CSS were 0.85, 0.94 and 1.31 respectively, which indicated that the CSS biochemistry performance was significantly better than CSC, and beta-chitosan has great potential in biomedical materials.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the biochemistry performance of alpha-chitosan and beta-chitosan from different marine sources using weighted composite index method, providing a theoretical basis for better development and utilization of chitosan biomedical materials. The composite weighted index values indicated that beta-chitosan from Illex argentinus squid gladius showed significantly better biochemistry performance than alpha-chitosan from Portunus trituberculatus shell, suggesting great potential for biomedical materials.