Deacetylation of chitin obtained by biological method and its application in melipona honey-incorporated antimicrobial biofilms

The objective of this work was to obtain and characterize chitosan from biologically obtained chitin, to determine its capability to form films with Melipona honey (MH), and to evaluate the physicochemical, antimicrobial, and mechanical properties of the resulted biofilm. The chitosan yielded 62.64% and exhibited a degree of solubility of 91.33%, and the degree of deacetylation calculated from the FTIR spectrum was 79%. The film using commercial chitosan incorporated with MH (CC-MH) presented the highest opacity (3.25) and thickness (0.11 mm) and the lowest values of elongation at break and tensile strength (6.46% and 2.51 MPa). All films inhibited the microbial growth by contact, making this material suitable for packaging applications. Graphical abstract