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1. Chitin degradation by Synechococcus WH7803

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47332-0  

   Capovilla, Giovanna; Castro, Kurt G; Collani, Silvio; Kearney, Sean M; Kehoe, David M; Chisholm, Sallie W (December 2023, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract Chitin is an abundant, carbon-rich polymer in the marine environment. Chitinase activity has been detected in spent media ofSynechococcusWH7803 cultures—yet it was unclear which specific enzymes were involved. Here we delivered a CRISPR tool into the cells via electroporation to generate loss-of-function mutants of putative candidates and identified ChiA as the enzyme required for the activity detected in the wild type. 

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2. Acidic Ethanol/Water Casting Approach to Improve Chitin Nanofibril Dispersion and Properties of Propionylated Chitin Biocomposites

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c08990  

   Zhong, Tuhua; Wolcott, Michael P.; Liu, Hang; Wang, Jinwu (March 2021, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering)

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3. Developing chitin nanocrystals for flexible packaging coatings

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.115276  

   Zhong, Tuhua; Wolcott, Michael P.; Liu, Hang; Wang, Jinwu (December 2019, Carbohydrate Polymers)
4. Flexible, microstructured surfaces using chitin-derived biopolymers

   https://doi.org/10.1039/c9tb00965e  

   Pradhan, Sayantan; Moore, Kathryn M.; Ainslie, Kristy M.; Yadavalli, Vamsi K. (September 2019, Journal of Materials Chemistry B)

   Chitin, one of the most abundant natural amino polysaccharides, is obtained primarily from the exoskeletons of crustaceans, crabs and shrimp. Chitin and its derivative chitosan have gained much attention in the field of biomedical research due to attractive properties such as biocompatibility, non-toxicity, biodegradability, low immunogenicity, and ease of availability. While work has been done on the use of chitin and chitosan as functional biomaterials by imparting specific properties, the potential of chitin as a biomaterial is somewhat limited owing to its intractable processing. In this work, we propose a facile reaction to modify the chitin chain with photoactive moieties for the realization of photocrosslinkable chitin. This chitin derivative is easily usable with a benign solvent formic acid to be able to form mechanically robust, optically transparent sheets. These films exhibit comparable tensile properties to that of native chitin and chitosan and better surface wettability. Most importantly, this material can be used to form precise, high resolution microarchitectures on both rigid and flexible substrates using a facile bench top photolithography technique. These flexible micropatterned 2D sheets of chitin were demonstrated as a dynamic cell culture substrate for the adhesion and proliferation of fibroblasts, wherein the chitin micropatterns act as a template for spatial guidance of cells. This chitin-based biopolymer can find diverse uses in tissue engineering as well as to form components for degradable bioelectronics. 

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5. Chitin Nanofibrils Enabled Core–Shell Microcapsules of Alginate Hydrogel

   https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13172470  

   Sapkota, Thakur; Shrestha, Bishnu Kumar; Shrestha, Sita; Bhattarai, Narayan (September 2023, Nanomaterials)

   An engineered 3D architectural network of the biopolymeric hydrogel can mimic the native cell environment that promotes cell infiltration and growth. Among several bio-fabricated hydrogel structures, core–shell microcapsules inherit the potential of cell encapsulation to ensure the growth and transport of cells and cell metabolites. Herein, a co-axial electrostatic encapsulation strategy is used to create and encapsulate the cells into chitin nanofibrils integrated alginate hydrogel microcapsules. Three parameters that are critical in the electrostatic encapsulation process, hydrogel composition, flow rate, and voltage were optimized. The physicochemical characterization including structure, size, and stability of the core–shell microcapsules was analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), FTIR, and mechanical tests. The cellular responses of the core–shell microcapsules were evaluated through in vitro cell studies by encapsulating NIH/3T3 fibroblast cells. Notably, the bioactive microcapsule showed that the cell viability was found excellent for more than 2 weeks. Thus, the results of this core–shell microcapsule showed a promising approach to creating 3D hydrogel networks suitable for different biomedical applications such as in vitro tissue models for toxicity studies, wound healing, and tissue repair. 

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