Shigeru Okada — Page 4

PubMedDate not supplied

Alkali-induced conversion of beta-chitin to alpha-chitin.

Crystal conversion of beta-chitin to alpha-chitin by aq. NaOH treatment was studied for a highly crystalline beta-chitin sample from diatom spine. The minimum NaOH concentration to cause swelling was between 25% and 30% w/w. The alkali-swollen material was poorly crystalline and was regenerated as alpha-chitin on washing with water. This conversion caused total collapse of the original microfibrillar morphology. These features are similar to those of 7 N-8 N HCl treatment reported earlier, but alkali treatment was free from depolymerization or deacetylation.

Alkalies↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Inclusion complex of beta-chitin and aliphatic amines.

Inclusion complexation of beta-chitin with linear aliphatic amines was studied by X-ray diffraction. All tested amines, C3 to C8 monoamines and C2 to C7 diamines with terminal amino groups, reversibly formed crystalline complexes with beta-chitin by immersion of dry chitin in pure liquid. Complex formation caused linear increase in the 010 sheet spacing of beta-chitin depending on the carbon number of amine. The complexes could be classified as type I and type II according to the increment of sheet spacing against carbon number. All monoamines formed type II complexes. In dry conditions, diamine formed a type I complex though the type of diamine complex differed for guest species in wet conditions. Based on the unit cell dimension and thermogravimetry, type II and type I are likely to correspond to guest-host (amine-chitobiose) ratios of 2:1 and 1:1, respectively. These differences seem to arise from varied interactions between functional groups of chitin and amines.

Amines↗