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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Preparation of Expanded Chitin Foams and their Use in the Removal of Aqueous Copper
Published on: February 27, 2021
The importance of chitin in the marine environment
Claudiana P Souza1, Bianca C Almeida, Rita R Colwell
1Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, 1374, Prof. Lineu Prestes Av., 05508-000, São Paulo, Brazil.
Abstract:
Chitin is the most abundant renewable polymer in the oceans and is an important source of carbon and nitrogen for marine organisms. The process of chitin degradation is a key step in the cycling of nutrients in the oceans and chitinolytic bacteria play a significant role in this process. These bacteria are autochthonous to both marine and freshwater ecosystems and produce chitinases that degrade chitin, an insoluble polysaccharide, to a biologically useful form. In this brief review, a description of the structure of chitin and diversity of chitinolytic bacteria in the oceans is provided, in the context of the significance of chitin degradation for marine life.
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