Chitosan/Chitin Precursors Engineering Service

Chitin and its derivative, Chitosan, are biocompatible polysaccharides used widely in Medical Textiles/Fibers, water treatment, and drug delivery due to their unique properties. The traditional source faces major drawbacks: Traditional source shellfish is allergenic, non-vegan, and requires harsh chemical deacetylation. This severely limits its purity, sustainability, and applicability in medical fields.

CD Biosynsis offers a revolutionary, non-animal-based biomanufacturing route: Metabolic Engineering: Ferment Aspergillus or Rhizopus fungi that naturally produce chitin in their cell walls. This provides a reliable, non-allergenic, and vegan-friendly source of Chitin. For the conversion step, we employ Enzymatic Deacetylation: Utilize specific microbial Chitin Deacetylase in a mild enzymatic process to produce high-purity Chitosan. This enzymatic process replaces harsh chemical treatment, yielding a consistent, high-purity Chitosan with a precisely controlled degree of deacetylation.

Pain Points

The traditional production of Chitosan and Chitin faces these key challenges:

• Allergenic and Non-Vegan: Shellfish sources e.g. shrimp, crab pose allergy risks and are unsuitable for vegan and certain religious consumers, limiting market access.
• Harsh Chemical Treatment: The conversion of Chitin to Chitosan requires treatment with concentrated, hot alkali e.g. NaOH, which is energy-intensive, environmentally damaging, and can damage the final polymer structure.
• Inconsistent Quality: Chemical deacetylation often leads to a wide, uncontrolled range of Degree of Deacetylation DDA, which is the critical factor dictating Chitosan functionality.
• Source Dependency: The supply is dependent on the fishing/aquaculture industry, leading to price fluctuations and supply instability.

A sustainable solution must transition to a non-animal source and a green, precise conversion method.

Solutions

CD Biosynsis utilizes fermentation and enzyme technology to achieve superior Chitosan production:

Fungal Chitin Bioproduction

           

We implement controlled fermentation of specific fungi e.g. Aspergillus or Rhizopus, which naturally produce Chitin in their cell walls, providing an allergen-free and vegan-friendly source.

Precision Enzymatic Deacetylation

We use specific Chitin Deacetylase CDA enzymes produced by engineered microbes e.g. Bacillus subtilis to catalyze Chitin to Chitosan conversion under mild conditions.

Precise DDA Control

By controlling the concentration and reaction time of the Chitin Deacetylase enzyme, we achieve unprecedented, uniform control over the Degree of Deacetylation DDA of the final Chitosan.

Optimized Fungal Harvest

We develop optimized cell lysis and separation protocols e.g. mild acid treatment to efficiently harvest high-purity Chitin from the fungal biomass.

This biological route ensures a safe, high-quality, and highly consistent supply of Chitosan.

Advantages

Our Chitosan Chitin engineering service is dedicated to pursuing the following production goals:

Allergen-Free and Vegan Source Icon

Using fungal fermentation eliminates allergy concerns related to shellfish and expands market viability.

Green, Enzymatic Conversion Icon

The CDA-based process replaces the need for harsh, corrosive alkali treatment, reducing environmental impact.

Precise DDA Control Icon

Enzymatic deacetylation allows for the precise tuning of the Degree of Deacetylation DDA, ensuring tailored functionality.

High Polymer Purity Icon

The fermentation route yields a cleaner starting material with fewer impurities than shellfish waste.

Consistent Batch Quality Icon

Controlled fungal fermentation provides a consistent feedstock for enzymatic conversion.

We deliver a truly modern, high-quality Chitosan solution for biomedical and high-value applications.

Process

Our Chitosan Chitin engineering service follows a rigorous, multi-stage research workflow:

• Fungal Strain Optimization: Optimize Aspergillus or Rhizopus strains e.g. via random mutagenesis or genetic engineering to maximize Chitin content in the cell wall.
• Fermentation and Chitin Harvest: Develop high-cell-density fermentation protocols and optimize the mild alkaline acid treatment to isolate the Chitin from the fungal biomass.
• Chitin Deacetylase CDA Production: Engineer a robust microbial host e.g. E. coli or yeast to overproduce and secrete high levels of a high-activity CDA enzyme.
• Enzymatic Deacetylation Optimization: Establish the CDA-catalyzed conversion reaction Chitin to Chitosan, optimizing enzyme loading and reaction time to hit the target DDA value.
• Product Characterization: Quantify the DDA e.g. via titration or NMR and measure the molecular weight of the final Chitosan product.

Technical communication is maintained throughout the process, focusing on timely feedback regarding yield and product quality attributes.

Explore the potential for a high-purity, non-animal-based Chitosan supply. CD Biosynsis provides customized strain and process engineering solutions:

• Detailed Fungal Chitin Yield and Final Chitosan DDA Reports percent w/w of biomass, DDA percent.
• Consultation on CDA enzyme immobilization and reactor design for continuous production.
• Experimental reports include complete raw data on fungal biomass growth, enzyme activity, and product molecular weight.