Every year, 6 to 8 million tons of crustacean shells are produced worldwide, with their majority dumped in landfills or in the sea. Although treated as waste, these shells are renewable feedstocks containing about 15-40% chitin, which can be deacetylated to produce chitosan. Chitosan is a versatile polymer with interesting applications (i.e. cosmetics, packaging, catalysis, food additives), but harsh conditions are necessary for its production. Recently, the Moores group discovered a greener methodology based on mechanochemistry and accelerated aging for the synthesis of high molecular weight chitosans, and a similar procedure can be used to produce chitosan nanocrystals from their chitin counterparts. The latter materials have been applied for drug release.<br/>In this presentation, our early results for the adaptation of the process above and synthesis of medium molecular weight nanochitosans from crustacean shells will be described. Through a combination of mechanosynthesis and accelerated aging, our aim is to develop a system with a wide range of deacetylation degree which can increase the potential of chitosan hydrogels and other formulations in other fields, especially agriculture. By using highly tunable medium molecular weights nanocrystals with increased water solubility, a new, inexpensive, and non-toxic delivery system based on the Principles of Green Chemistry can be developed and employed.

From water to earth: Nanochitosans for the controlled release of fertilizers

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.