Extraction of Chitosan from blue swimmer Crab Portunus segnis and determination of its functional groups using Fourier transform infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR)

Abstract

In this study, Chitosan was successfully extracted from the exoskeletons of the blue swimming crab (Portunus segnis), collected from Alkornish Aljanoubii in the Latakian coast during Winter and Autumn 2024. The shells underwent processing to isolate chitin from the exoskeleton, followed by deacetylation of the chitin to yield Chitosan.

The results showed the feasibility of extracting chitin and converting it to chitosan. The extracted product was confirmed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy, where the spectra of the samples showed perfect matching with the standard reference spectrum. Additionally, various physicochemical tests were conducted on the extracted chitosan.

These tests revealed exceptionally high solubility, with moisture content ranging from 7.5% in Autumn to 10.2% in Winter. The results also indicated higher organic matter content in winter compared to Autumn. Furthermore, the water-binding capacity was measured at 813% in Winter and 677.3% in Autumn.Consequently, marine Crustacean waste represents an excellent, sustainable source for chitosan production, which finds wide applications in medical treatments, Agriculture, food packaging, and the development of eco-friendly bioactive membranes.