Blog Archive

Saturday, August 28, 2021

08-28-2021-1618 - Chitin

 Chitin (C8H13O5N)n (/ˈkaɪtɪn/ KY-tin) is a long-chain polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. This polysaccharide is a primary component of cell walls in fungi, the exoskeletons of arthropods, such as crustaceans and insects, the radulae of molluscscephalopod beaks, and the scales of fish and skin of lissamphibians,[1] making it the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature,[2] behind only cellulose. The structure of chitin is comparable to cellulose, forming crystalline nanofibrils or whiskers. It is functionally comparable to the protein keratin. Chitin has proved useful for several medicinal, industrial and biotechnological purposes.

Chemical configurations of the different monosaccharides (glucose and N-acetylglucosamine) and polysaccharides (chitin and cellulose) presented in Haworth projection

://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitin


No comments:

Post a Comment