Preparation, Chemistry and Applications of Chitosan

Abstract

Chitosan is an amino- polysaccharide derived from chitin that comprises of linear amino-polysacchride including N-acetyl D-glucosamine and D-glucosamine components. Chitosan has gathered largely interest starting with industry and academic as a result of its biological activities. Chitosan may be fitting biopolymer that could be employed in a variety of industries. Currently the major sources of chitosan are crustacean shells, shrimp, crabs and crayfish. The present review interested on the recent sources of chitosan particularly insects such as grasshopper. Insect like grasshopper are considered to be pest and harmful species to agricultural land and they are in abundance especially in the northern part of Nigeria and it can serve as possible source of chitosan and their scientific benefit has not been tapped, also different method may be used to prepare chitosan such as chemical and biological method, and it has many application. The present review provided the best insight into the sourcing the chitosan from insect such as grasshopper as alternative to crustaceans shells, shrimp and crabs which may also address food scarcity related challenges by reducing the population of the pests and  thereby their infestation. The future direction of research should focus on the destruction of catastrophic species into a value-added product that could replace the existing biopolymers sources and hence increase the opportunities in this field, also studies are required to optimize the production process for higher yield using modern technology such as electrochemical methods or ultrasonication and microwave. Further innovative insect rearing methods would also produce a constant supply of insects for industrial uses i.e specific species/stages. Cost-effective method and straightforward synthesis approaches could be required for large-scale production of insect chitosan. Hence, up-scaling efficiency, insect species selectivity, and stability in real-time applications need to be explored.  Also, further research is required for understanding the chitosan mechanisms of action and bioactivity.