Multistep Chemical Processing of Crickets Leading to the Extraction of Chitosan Used for Synthesis of Polymer Drug Carriers
Magdalena Głąb,
Sonia Kudłacik-Kramarczyk,
Anna Drabczyk,
Martin Duarte Guigou,
Agnieszka Sobczak-Kupiec,
Dariusz Mierzwiński,
Paweł Gajda,
Janusz Walter,
Bożena Tyliszczak
Affiliations
Magdalena Głąb
Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Materials Engineering and Physics, Cracow University of Technology, 37 Jana Pawła II Av., 31-864 Krakow, Poland
Sonia Kudłacik-Kramarczyk
Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Materials Engineering and Physics, Cracow University of Technology, 37 Jana Pawła II Av., 31-864 Krakow, Poland
Anna Drabczyk
Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Materials Engineering and Physics, Cracow University of Technology, 37 Jana Pawła II Av., 31-864 Krakow, Poland
Martin Duarte Guigou
Department of Engineering and Technology, Catholic University of Uruguay, Av. 8 de Octubre 2738, Montevideo CP 11600, Uruguay
Agnieszka Sobczak-Kupiec
Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Materials Engineering and Physics, Cracow University of Technology, 37 Jana Pawła II Av., 31-864 Krakow, Poland
Dariusz Mierzwiński
Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Materials Engineering and Physics, Cracow University of Technology, 37 Jana Pawła II Av., 31-864 Krakow, Poland
Paweł Gajda
Department of Sustainable Energy Development, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30 Mickiewicza Av., 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Janusz Walter
Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Materials Engineering and Physics, Cracow University of Technology, 37 Jana Pawła II Av., 31-864 Krakow, Poland
Bożena Tyliszczak
Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Materials Engineering and Physics, Cracow University of Technology, 37 Jana Pawła II Av., 31-864 Krakow, Poland
Chitosan belongs to the group of biopolymers with increasing range of potential applications therefore searching for new raw materials as well as new techniques of obtaining of this polysaccharide are currently a subject of interest of many scientists. Presented manuscript describes preparation of chitosan from crickets. Obtainment of final product required a number of processes aimed at removal of undesirable substances such as waxes, mineral salts, proteins or pigments from above-mentioned insects. Chemical structure of fractions obtained after each step was compared with the structure of commercial chitosan by means of techniques such as X-ray diffraction and FT-IR spectroscopy. Final product was subsequently used for preparation of polymer capsules that were modified with active substance characterized by antibacterial and anticancer activity—nisin. Next, sorption capacity of obtained materials was evaluated as well as a release profile of active substance in different environments. Based on the conducted research it can be concluded that crickets constitute an alternative for shellfish and other conventional sources of chitosan. Furthermore, obtained capsules on the basis of such prepared chitosan can be considered as drug delivery systems which efficiency of release of active substance is bigger in alkaline environments.
