What is chitosan and its applications in the beauty field

Chitin is the substance that makes up the outermost shell of most crustaceans: shrimp, crabs, insects, crustaceans… In shellfish, chitin is found as a component of a complex network with proteins on which calcium carbonate is deposited to form a hard shell. Therefore, chitosan is produced with the main ingredient chitin (chitin is a linear polysaccharide, a polymer of many N-acetyl-glucosamine units joined together by a β-1,4glucoside bridge).

Summary of the main structural components of shrimp and crab shells:

Production process

Collect shrimp shells and crab shells

Wash to remove impurities

Chitosan factories often wash to remove remaining substances in shrimp and crab shells such as fluid, meat, lipids…

Demineralization in the shell

Minerals account for 45.16% of the composition. To remove these substances, the factory will use HCl (2-6% concentration) at a temperature of 26-30 degrees Celsius. Solid and solvent ratio 1:5 (w/v)/16 hours. The collected residue is washed and soaked in water to neutral pH so it can be removed.

Deproteinization

Protein accounts for 23%, the deproteinization process will use NaOH solution (4-8% concentration) at a temperature of 26-30 degrees Celsius. Solid and solvent ratio 1:5 (w/v)/20 hours. The residue collected is washed and soaked in water so that the pH is neutral and can be removed > at this point we call the result obtained here chitin.

Production of chitosan from chitin

After the crab shell undergoes the reduction process, chitin is obtained. With pure chitin of high purity, we will use it and prepare chitosan in the following 3 ways in industry:

– Chemistry

– Enzymes

– Microbial fermentation

Uses of Chitosan

Chitosan has the ability to create a thin layer on the skin’s surface, provide and limit water loss, stabilize emulsions, limit the growth of bacteria… Therefore, chitosan products are mostly used externally on the skin. such as lotion, anti-skin cream, skin softening cream, emulsifying cream…

Due to the nature of chitosan, it can be easily fixed on the skin epidermis by the NH4+ group, so it is often attached to water-retaining agents or ultraviolet ray filters.

In addition, chitosan is also used to make weight loss and cholesterol-lowering drugs, with dosages ranging from 0.24-15 grams/day for 4-24 weeks.

If you are interested about purchase Crab shells to making chitosan wholesale, contact us for more information.

Thank you for reading! Have a nice day.