A Comprehensive Review Based on Chitin and Chitosan Composites

Chitin and chitosan properties are highly variable depending on the source, deacetylation, protein concentration, and extraction procedures. In order to obtain chitin and chitosan, they can be obtained from chemical and biological methods, conventional methods and microwave irradiation. All the methods undergo the same process; demineralization, deproteinization and deacetylation. Chitin and chitosan undergo modification (acetylation, quaternization, oxidative) to enhance its physical properties. Due to that, chitin and chitosan-based composites have the ability to assist in one of the most important environmental issues, which is water contamination as well as in other applications. Chitin has a poor solubility level, but it has been replaced by its derivative, chitosan, which has improved qualities as a soluble biopolymer rich in –NH2 and OH groups, which assists in a more efficient adsorption process when these biopolymers were modified. Chitin and chitosan composite undergo a thermomechanical kneading process to be used in food packaging. This includes chitosan as an edible food coating. Coating can be applied directly to the surface of meals as edible coatings or the surface of packaging materials to functionalize them. Furthermore, composite materials composed of chitin and chitosan have garnered substantial attention for biomedical purposes due to their low sensitivity to foreign substances, inherent antibacterial characteristics, biocompatibility, and biodegradability, as well as their ability to be moulded into a range of geometries and forms. This chapter emphasizes that the composites of chitin and chitosan can act as effective bio adsorbents for a variety of contaminants including adsorbent for wastewater’s pollutants as well as the application in food packaging and biomedical. Thus, these chitin and chitosan composites have the ability to adapt in many applications due to their unique properties.