A Green Multifunctional Polymer from Discarded Material: Chitin Nanofibrils
P. Morganti *
R&D Department, Nanoscience Centre MAVI, Viale dell’Industria, 1–04011 Aprilia (LT), Italy.
F. Carezzi
R&D Department, Nanoscience Centre MAVI, Viale dell’Industria, 1–04011 Aprilia (LT), Italy.
P. Del Ciotto
R&D Department, Nanoscience Centre MAVI, Viale dell’Industria, 1–04011 Aprilia (LT), Italy.
G. Tishchenko
Department of Structural Analysis and Biomacromolecules, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
A. Chianese
Chemical Materials Environmental Engineering, Department, University “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy.
V. E. Yudin
Laboratory of the Institute of Macromolecular Compounds, Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg, Russia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Chitin Nanofibril (CN) is the purest crystal form of chitin obtained industrially from fishery and crustacean waste. Characterized by positive charges covering its surface, this natural polymer has the ability to form block copolymeric nanoparticles with electronegative natural or man-made compounds, entrapping active ingredients also.
Due to its own biological properties, CN complexed with hyaluronic acid and entrapped with different active ingredients has been included into cosmetic emulsions, electrospun fibers and transparent films obtained by the casting technology.
The antiaging activity of the obtained emulsions has been reported as well as the first technical characteristics of the non-woven tissues and the transparent films made by two EU research projects:
BIOMIMETIC (www.biomimetic-eu-project.eu) and n-CHITOPACK (www.n-chitopack.eu).
Keywords: Chitin nanofibrils, non-woven tissues, food packaging, natural polymers, gelation method, electrospinning, casting technology