Overview

Processing of seafood produces an increasing mass of waste products, and crustacean waste represents a large fraction as compared to fish waste products, e.g. while 75% of a tuna fish can be taken out as fillet, only 40% of a crab’s mass is meat.

In the project ChitoWound we intend to use enzymes to facilitate extraction of the protein fraction and thereby reduce the use of chemicals in the subsequent step of isolating a pure chitin fraction suitable as raw material for high-quality chitosan production.

In ChitoWound we have targeted the preparation of chitosans towards wound healing applications.

Chitosans of widely varying chemical composition, i.e. degree of deacetylation, and with varying molecular weight, will be prepared and used as starting materials for chemical modifications, focusing on peptide grafting.

The chitosans (both unmodified and modified, and in different presentation forms, i.e. solutions, suspensions, solids, and membranes) will be tested in bio-assays, and their biodegrability in relation to wound healing applications determined.

The most promising chitosans will be tested in selected in vivo wound healing applications.

The expected achievements will have a great impact on the environment with less organic carbon release and reduced energy consumption in seafood waste production, as well as new advanced applications of high quality chitosan in wound healing products.