Chitin Chitin Chitin (CHON) ( ), a long-chain polymer of "N"-acetylglucosamine, is a derivative of glucose. It is a primary component of cell walls in fungi, the exoskeletons of arthropods, such as crustaceans (e.g., crabs, lobsters and shrimps) and insects, the radulae of molluscs, cephalopod beaks, and the scales of fish and lissamphibians. The structure of chitin is comparable to another polysaccharide - cellulose, forming crystalline nanofibrils or whiskers. In terms of function, it may be compared to the protein keratin. Chitin has proved useful for several medicinal, industrial and biotechnological purposes. The English word "chitin" comes from the French word
Polymer nanocomposite nanofibres, rods, tubes etc. make polymers a good platform for the immobilization of biological objects. Polymer fibers are, in general, produced on a technical scale by extrusion, i.e., a polymer melt or a polymer solution is pumped through cylindrical dies and spun/drawn by a take-up device. The resulting fibers have diameters typically on the 10-µm scale or above. To come down in diameter into the range of several hundreds of nanometers or even down to a few nanometers, Electrospinning is today still the leading polymer processing technique available. A strong electric field of the order of 103 V/cm is applied