Collagen and Chitin from Marine Resources and Their Interdisciplinary Applications

Overview & Synopsis

Marine collagen and chitin exhibit significant applicative potential in the fields of drug discovery, drug delivery, wound healing, tissue engineering, antiaging, agriculture, and the environment. These two biopolymers also exhibit similar hierarchical structural organizations. After cellulose, chitin is the second most important natural polymer in the world, and has been identified in bacteria, fungi, plants, and marine invertebrates. Chitin can also be enzymatically deacetylated to chitosan, a more flexible and soluble biopolymer. As mentioned above, it has many applications, including in the biomedical, environmental, and agricultural sectors. Similarly, nature is a source of massive quantities of collagen, especially in marine organisms. It is the main fibrous structural protein in the extracellular matrix and connective tissue of animals. It contributes greatly to the development of products for biotechnology and medical applications..