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Updated: Jan 4, 2026
Preparation of Expanded Chitin Foams and their Use in the Removal of Aqueous Copper
Published on: February 27, 2021
Can we make Chitosan by Enzymatic Deacetylation of Chitin?
Rianne A G Harmsen1, Tina R Tuveng1, Simen G Antonsen1
1Department of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, PO 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway.
Abstract:
Chitin, an insoluble linear polymer of β-1,4-N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc; A), can be converted to chitosan, a soluble heteropolymer of GlcNAc and d-glucosamine (GlcN; D) residues, by partial deacetylation. In nature, deacetylation of chitin is catalyzed by enzymes called chitin deacetylases (CDA) and it has been proposed that CDAs could be used to produce chitosan. In this work, we show that CDAs can remove up to approximately 10% of N-acetyl groups from two different (α and β) chitin nanofibers, but cannot produce chitosan.
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