Abstract
Large scale isolation of chitin traditionally has been carried out from fungal biomass as well as from seafood processing wastes, e.g., from shrimp, crab and lobster exoskeletons. Despite the relative abundance and ready availability of these materials, isolation of chitin requires great deal of chemical reagents and is time consuming. Obtained in this way chitin is produced in the form of powders, whiskers, and flakes. In this review, we have focused on the moulting cuticles of spiders as an alternative source of naturally occurring chitin. The comparatively high chitin content in the moults allows for rapid preparation of structures that maintain their original shape and integrity, such as the chitinous tubes from leg exoskeletons. Based on our latest scientific analyses regarding spider chitin, we highlight here its advantages and its biomimetic applications in tissue engineering, catalysis and environmental science.
Highlights
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the study of natural polysaccharides [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]
In contrast to Kaya et al [36], Machalowski and others obtained chitin from spider source retaining its unique shapes, including the 3D tubular architecture from walking legs. This result is in agreement with the “scaffolding strategy” concept, whereby higher-order structures are comprised of already prefabricated 3D chitinous scaffolds [107]
The results reveal the specific structural arrangement and distribution of the chitin fibres within the attachment hair’s cuticle, preventing material failure by tensile reinforcement and proper distribution of stresses that arise upon attachment and detachment
Summary
There has been a significant increase in the study of natural polysaccharides [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. It has been estimated that all spider species lose about 8 ± 0.16% of mass during a moult [60] By these measures, we can estimate that spiders are able to produce between 2 and 6 million tons of cuticles due to ecdysis worldwide per year (depending on the frequency of moulting). We can estimate that spiders are able to produce between 2 and 6 million tons of cuticles due to ecdysis worldwide per year (depending on the frequency of moulting) Despite their diversity and widespread distribution, Araneae have received only scant attention with respect to utilization of their moults as a potential, renewable source of chitin. Chitin isolated from spider moults has found diverse uses, including scaffolds for tissue engineering, porous membranes for catalyst creation [65], and as crude oil sorbents [66]
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