Rheology, stability, and physicochemical properties of NaOH-tannic acid solvent for β-chitin dissolution

The applicability of chitin in food systems is limited by its poor solubility in ordinary solvents. This study explores a novel solvent system composed of sodium hydroxide and tannic acid (NaOH/TA) in combination with a repeated freeze-thaw process for dissolving chitin. The highest chitin solubility in 8% NaOH/0.3% TA and 10% NaOH/0.3% TA was 2.1% and 2.3% (w/v), respectively. The lower NaOH and excessive tannic acid content may lead to reduction of chitin solubility. We also observed a unique rheological property of the chitin/NaOH/TA system. A higher concentration of TA reduced the chitin solution's shear viscosity, storage modulus, loss modulus, and gelling temperature. Its shear viscosity decreases with increasing shear rate, showing a shear thinning behavior. When the chitin/NaOH/TA solution system was stored at 30 o C, the crystalline degree of chitin decreased, and the diffraction peak shifted, suggesting the formation of different intermolecular forces. The TA contents show no significant effect on the crystallinity of chitin. With increased storage time, the molecular weight of chitin decreased, and the degree of deacetylation (DD) increased. These results underscore the potential applications of the chitin/NaOH/TA system in the food industry. • A solvent composed of NaOH and tannic acid (TA) is proposed for dissolving chitin. • TA effectively substituted urea in the alkaline solvent system for chitin dissolution. • The solubility was improved and showed unique solution behavior. • FTIR results confirmed no chemical functionalization of chitin by TA in this system. • The formed chitin solution showed a unique shear-thinning behavior.