Chitosan-protein systems: complexes, colloidal gels and interfaces

甲壳素及其主要工业衍生物壳聚糖构成了目前可利用的海洋原料的主要生物聚合物，但它们在增值产品方面的潜力尚未得到充分开发。最近的一份报告宣布，到2018年，全球甲壳素和壳聚糖市场预计将超过11.8万吨，需要进入新的领域才能实现这一增长。然而，壳聚糖是一个非常复杂的分子，对科学界和工业仍然具有挑战性。克服这些限制的一种方法是进一步了解壳聚糖在各种物理状态和其他组分存在下的物理化学性质。例如，蛋白质和多糖形成的复合体在微营养素的包埋、乳剂的稳定、制药等方面有着广泛的应用。过去关于壳聚糖/蛋白质复合体凝聚体的报道很少，但由于壳聚糖具有生物活性、生物相容性、生物降解性和低毒性等独特的内在性质，近年来重新引起了人们的兴趣。

Chitin and its main industrial derivative, chitosan, constitute the principal biopolymers from marine feedstock available today and yet, their potential in terms of value-added products has not been exploited to fullness. A recent report has announced that the world chitin and chitosan market is projected to exceed 118 000 metric tons by 2018, and that penetration into new fields will be required to realize this growth. Chitosan is however a very complex molecule and remains challenging to the scientific community and the industry. One way to overcome these limitations is to develop further knowledge of chitosan physicochemical properties in various physical states and in the presence of other components. For example, complexes formed by proteins and polysaccharides find multiple uses in applications such as encapsulation of micronutrients, stabilization of emulsions, pharmaceuticals, etc. Reports on chitosan/protein complex coacervates have been scarce in the past, however there is a regained interest in recent years considering chitosan unique intrinsic properties such as biological activity, biocompatibility, biodegradability and low toxicity.