Production of beta-chitin aqueous stable suspensions by ultrasound process: a green chemistry way

The chitin insoluble characteristics in aqueous media creates a barrier for biological applications. While the chitosan, the most used derivative from chitin, have been widely used for several applications, due to high solubility in slightly acidic aqueous solution. Reported herein is a new approach, consisting of ultrasound irradiation of beta-chitin, which can produce stable suspensions in water (pH= 7.0). With the aim of obtained the most stable beta-chitin suspensions, we played with beta-chitin concentration (0.4 g/L and 1.6 g/L), sonication time (ranged in the interval from 5 min. to 30 min.) and the irradiation amplitude (from 30 % to 50%). When beta-chitin is processed by ultrasound, in aqueous media, we observed the decrease of crystallinity (DRX) and the appearance of micro and nanofibers (MEV). Testing the stability of beta-chitin suspensions, was demonstrate that these suspensions can be stable since 5 min. until several days. Coupling the efficient process to produce stable suspensions in water with biodegradable and biocompatible characteristics of beta-chitin holds great considerable promise for advanced in biological applications.