Isolation and detailed characterization of chitin structure from sea spiders for the first time

Chitin which is the most found biopolymer in nature after cellulose, has an economic value due to its biological activities, industrial (textil, paper etc.) and biomedical (drug ve gene delivery etc.) applications. There are no studies in the literature on obtaining chitin from sea spiders. In this study, chitin was isolated for the first time from Pycnogonida littorale and Borenymphon abyssorum belonging to the arthropod phylum. In present study, chitin was isolated from P. littorale and B. abyssorum using various combinations of acid and alkali concentrations. The samples of the extracted chitin were characterized by Fourier transform ınfrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Elemental analysis techniques. These characterization results revealed that chitins from sea spiders have an alpha form as the other Crustacea class. As a result, with this study for the first time, the chitin was obtained from sea spiders and its detailed characterization was determined. The contents of the chitin were determined as 50.42% for B. littorale and 40.23% for B. abyssorum. The chitin contents of these organisms were recorded to be higher than other organisms. In the literature, chitin contents of insects and crustaceans (crab, crayfish, lobster) are generally reported around 20% (10 to 40%). SEM results showed that the obtained chitins had a surface morphology with a fiber and porous and rough surface. A result of elemental analysis, B. littorale and B. abyssorum N% values were calculated as 5.88% and 6.77%, respectively and their values were shown to be close to each other. The obtained N values are reported to be close to the commercial chitin. In this study, the chitin isolates that obtained from sea spiders can be used as an alternative source in food, medicine, wastewater treatment etc.