Abstract

• Natural polymers viz., chitin and its deacetylated derivative form, chitosan consist of β-(1-4)- linked D-glucosamine (deacetylated unit) and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (acetylated unit). Chitin and chitosan were prepared from shrimp shell by demineralization, deproteinization and deacetylation. Effects of demineralization, deproteinization and deacetylation conditions on their preparations were studied. The X-ray Diffraction (XRD) method was used to study the correlation between degree of deacetylation (DD) and crystallinity of the extracted chitin and chitosan. The functional groups and the effect of deacetylation of the extracted samples were studied by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The viscosity average molecular weight of chitosan was determined depending on the different deacetylation time. The changes in surface morphology between the extracted chitin and deacetylated chitosan were studied by SEM techniques.