Fionn Ó Fearghail
Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland
Title: Optimised solid state 13C CP-MAS NMR, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy for the accurate determination of %Degree of Acetylation of extracted crab shell chitin for valorisation of fisheries waste streams
Biography
Biography: Fionn Ó Fearghail
Abstract
Solid state 13C CP-MAS NMR was optimised for the accurate determination of %Degree of Acetylation (%DA) using a range of extracted chitin and chitosan standards. Application of the optimised 13C CP-MAS NMR technique, along with FTIR and Raman spectroscopy for qualitative analysis, determined the %DA of fisheries waste-stream chitin isolated from brown crab, Cancer Pagurus, as being from 91-100% and of high purity. The extraction procedure was optimised, under principles of green chemistry and for ease of up-scaling for industrial application, by review of literature and replicate studies. Extraction is shown to be necessary for accurate analysis as determined by comparison of 13C CP-MAS NMR, FTIR and Raman spectra of both raw and extracted samples. An analytical suite consisting of these techniques is proposed as a standard reproducible method for the accurate characterisation of crustacean sourced chitin.