CHITOSAN

A NATURAL PRODUCT

FRANCE CHITINE
Natural product
Chitin and chitosan
Production
Uses of chitosan
Production capacity
Codification of products  

Chitin is a biopolymer of high molecular weight. It is nontoxic and biodegradable. Next to cellulose, it is the most common polysaccharide found in nature. Like cellulose, chitin is a fibre, but it has outstanding chemical and biological properties that can be used in a large number of industrial and medical applications.

PROPERTIES

Biocompatibility

Chitin and chitosan are natural biopolymers. They have no antigenicproperties, and thus are perfectly compatible with living tissue. Their antithrombogenic and hemostatic properties make them very suitable for use in all fields of biology.

Cicatrizant

Chitosan forms films that are permeable to air. It facilitates cellular regeneration while protecting tissue from microbe attack. In addition, chitosan has been found to have a biostimulant effect on the regeneration of tissue. This property has allowed it to be used in making an artificial skin for skin grafts on high degree burns and in surgical applications such as chitin suture thread.

Anticholesterolemic agent

Chitosan can trap lipids at their insolubilization pH in the digestive tract. Administered to rats, chitosan considerably reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood.

Chelation agent

Chitin and its derivatives are remarkable chelation agents. Chitosan is used for a wide range of applications: as a chromatography medium, or for trapping heavy metals, or for water treatment.

Biodegradable

Chitin and chitosan are biodegradable biopolymers. Enzymes - chitinase and chitosanase - break them down into oligopolymers that are then dealt with by the metabolism.

• COSMETICS
  
  
• AGRICULTURE

• ENVIRONMENT
  
  
• WATER TREATMENT