Editing Chitin (section)

==Research==
How chitin interacts with the [[immune system]] of plants and animals has been an active area of research, including the identity of key [[Receptor (biochemistry)|receptors]] with which chitin interacts, whether the size of chitin particles is relevant to the kind of immune response triggered, and mechanisms by which immune systems respond.<ref name="Gomez-Casado2016rev">{{Cite journal |last1=Gómez-Casado |first1=Cristina |last2=Díaz-Perales |first2=Araceli |last3=Hedenqvist |first3=Mikael S. |date=2016-10-01 |title=Allergen-Associated Immunomodulators: Modifying Allergy Outcome |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s00005-016-0401-2 |journal=Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis |language=en |volume=64 |issue=5 |pages=339–347 |doi=10.1007/s00005-016-0401-2 |issn=1661-4917 |pmid=27178664 |s2cid=15221318}}</ref><ref name=Kettles2016rev>{{cite journal|last1=Kettles|first1=GJ|last2=Kanyuka|first2=K|title=Dissecting the Molecular Interactions between Wheat and the Fungal Pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici|journal=Frontiers in Plant Science|date=15 April 2016|volume=7|pages=508|pmid=27148331|pmc=4832604|doi=10.3389/fpls.2016.00508|doi-access=free}}</ref> Chitin is deacetylated  chemically or enzymatically to produce [[chitosan]], a highly [[Biocompatibility|biocompatible]] polymer which has found a wide range of applications in the biomedical industry.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kapadnis |first1=Gaurav |last2=Dey |first2=Anomitra |last3=Dandekar |first3=Prajakta |last4=Jain |first4=Ratnesh |date=June 2019 |title=Effect of degree of deacetylation on solubility of low-molecular-weight chitosan produced via enzymatic breakdown of chitosan |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pi.5795 |journal=Polymer International |language=en |volume=68 |issue=6 |pages=1054–1063 |doi=10.1002/pi.5795 |s2cid=104427459 |issn=0959-8103}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Desai |first1=Ranjeet |title=Review of the Structure of Chitosan in the Context of Other Sugar-Based Polymers |date=2021 |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/12_2021_89 |work=Chitosan for Biomaterials III |volume=287 |pages=23–74 |editor-last=Jayakumar |editor-first=R. |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/12_2021_89 |isbn=978-3-030-83806-5 |access-date=2022-12-19 |last2=Pachpore |first2=Radhika |last3=Patil |first3=Ashwini |last4=Jain |first4=Ratnesh |last5=Dandekar |first5=Prajakta |s2cid=244341955 |editor2-last=Prabaharan |editor2-first=M.}}</ref> Chitin and chitosan have been explored as a [[vaccine adjuvant]] due to its ability to stimulate an immune response.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=Komi2017rev/>

Chitin and chitosan are under development as [[Tissue engineering#Scaffolds|scaffolds]] in studies of how tissue grows and how [[Wound healing|wounds heal]], and in efforts to invent better [[bandages]], [[surgical suture|surgical thread]], and materials for [[allotransplantation]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=Bedian2017rev/><ref>{{cite journal|pmc=4557018|year=2015|last1=Cheung|first1=R. C.|title=Chitosan: An Update on Potential Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Applications|journal=Marine Drugs|volume=13|issue=8|pages=5156–5186|last2=Ng|first2=T. B.|last3=Wong|first3=J. H.|last4=Chan|first4=W. Y.|doi=10.3390/md13085156|pmid=26287217|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Surgical suture|Sutures]] made of chitin have been experimentally developed, but their lack of elasticity and problems making thread have prevented commercial success so far.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Ducheyne|editor1-first=Paul|editor2-last=Healy|editor2-first=Kevin|editor3-last=Hutmacher|editor3-first=Dietmar E.|editor4-last=Grainger|editor4-first=David W.|editor5-last=Kirkpatrick|editor5-first=C. James|title=Comprehensive biomaterials|date=2011|publisher=Elsevier|location=Amsterdam|isbn=9780080552941|page=230|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oa8YpRsD1kkC&pg=RA1-PA230}}</ref>

[[Chitosan]] has been demonstrated and proposed to make a reproducible form of [[biodegradable]] plastic.<ref>{{cite web | title =Team creates bioplastic made from shrimp shells|url=https://phys.org/news/2014-05-team-bioplastic-shrimp-shells.html|date=6 May 2014|access-date=14 October 2024}}</ref> Chitin [[nanofiber]]s are extracted from crustacean waste and mushrooms for possible development of products in [[tissue engineering]], drug delivery and medicine.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.3390/molecules191118367|pmid=25393598|pmc=6271128|title=Chitin and Chitosan Nanofibers: Preparation and Chemical Modifications|journal=Molecules|volume=19|issue=11|pages=18367–80|year=2014|last1=Ifuku|first1=Shinsuke|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Chitin has been proposed for use in building structures, tools, and other solid objects from a [[composite material]], combining chitin with [[Martian soil|Martian regolith]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Shiwei|first1=Ng|last2=Dritsas|first2=Stylianos|last3=Fernandez|first3=Javier G.|date=September 16, 2020|title=Martian biolith: A bioinspired regolith composite for closed-loop extraterrestrial manufacturing|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=15|issue=9|pages=e0238606|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0238606|pmid=32936806|pmc=7494075|bibcode=2020PLoSO..1538606S|doi-access=free}}</ref> To build this, the [[biopolymers]] in the chitin are suggested as the [[Binder (material)|binder]] for the regolith [[Aggregate (composite)|aggregate]] to form a [[concrete]]-like [[composite material]]. The authors believe that waste materials from food production (e.g. scales from fish, exoskeletons from crustaceans and insects, etc.) could be put to use as feedstock for manufacturing processes.