Extraction, Quantification, and Characterization of Chitin from Marine Biofouling Organisms Amphipods (Jassa sp.) and Hydroids (Coryne sp.)

As the demand for chitin grows, new chitin sources with unique physicochemical properties are required. Abundant biofouling species, such as amphipods and hydroids, have chitinous skeletal systems that can be utilized for chitin production. However, little is known about these chitin sources. This study investigated the viability of amphipods (Jassa sp.) and hydroids (Coryne sp.) obtained from aquaculture biofouling assemblages as novel sources of chitin. Chitin was extracted from these sources and characterized in terms of its degree of acetylation (DA), crystallinity index (CrI), molecular weight (MW), thermal stability, and surface morphology. Physiochemical characteristics where then compared against commercially available shrimp chitin. Results show that a 32.75% chitin yield can be obtained from hydroids. The percentage DA for amphipod (AC) and hydroid (HC) chitin is 58.4–59.2% and 64.8–66.7%, respectively. AC is characterized as α-chitin with a low molecular weight (MW), while HC is medium-MW β-chitin. This finding is significant because it shows hydroids to be a new source of rare β-chitin. In addition, AC has higher thermal stability than HC. AC and HC greatly differ in terms of surface morphology. Therefore, the chitin biomaterials extracted from amphipods and hydroids have different but favorable properties that can be used for diverse applications.