We know the carapace is the shell on the back of the crab that is made of a hard bone called chitin. Chitin is a polymer that is the main component of the arthropod's exoskeletons such as crabs.
Plasters and bandages could soon be fitted with the shells of crabs to help cuts and scrapes heal faster. The key ingredient in the dressing is a mineral called chitosan found in crustacean shells. It is known for its healing properties as well as its ability to kill bacteria and has been used in China to treat battle wounds for centuries.
Also, Crabs shells containing calcium carbonate (CaCO3) are very abundant; amount 40–70%, varies according to the species. However, the carbonate apatite heats at a temperature of 700°–900°C for 2–5 hours, followed by washing using distilled water, the carbonate apatite can be hydroxyapatite.
Scientific Potential Of Crab Shell
Combining a sugar derived from crab and shrimp shells with nanomaterials may lead to biomedical applications that enhance bone regeneration, wound healing, and targeted drug delivery, reports a recent review study.
Also, the review published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, provides an overview of the different nanomaterials that are being tested in combination with chitosan, the methods used to prepare the composite materials, and the resultant properties that make them suitable for biomedical applications.
How Is Crab Shell Useful?
Chitosan is a sugar that is typically derived from shrimp and crab shell waste and is known for its biocompatible, biodegradable, antibacterial, antifungal, analgesic, and hemostatic (stops bleeding) properties. These characteristics make it an excellent candidate for a number of biomedical applications. Except that it only has limited mechanical strength.
Alchite is a composite fiber, combining alginate, which is drawn from algae, and chitosan found in crustacean shells adding that alginate and chitosan both have a history of being used in medicine. A successful composite is one in which the filler is well-dispersed within the composite material so that it can interact strongly with chitosan.
Chitosan is naturally antimicrobial and accelerates wound healing activity, so it does heal and kill bacteria.
What About It’s Biological Functioning?
Graphene oxide has been used in combination with chitosan to develop "nanocarriers" that can deliver drugs to target tissues, avoiding the negative side effects that conventional drugs can have on other tissues of the body.
Silver nanoparticles are being tested as nanofillers in combination with chitosan to develop wound dressings with antibacterial properties.
Also, hemoglobin (the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen through the body), silver nanoparticles, and graphene have been combined with chitosan to develop a biosensor that can detect hydrogen peroxide, a dangerous by-product of some industrial processes.
What Are Biomedical Applications?
Scientists are finding some success in combining bioactive glass nanoparticles with chitosan to develop synthetic bone grafts. Bioactive glass is a glass-ceramic biomaterial that binds well to physiological structures such as bone. Bone cells were found to grow relatively quickly and cover grafts made of bioactive glass and chitosan.
Further research is needed on: improving the dispersion of nanofillers within the chitosan matrix, how composite materials degrade, how they interact with host tissues in the body, and how they can be sterilized using conventional methods in clinical practice.
Also, Researchers added, "The vast opportunities shown by these materials, allied with their incredible nanotechnology potential, is expected to revolutionize the biomedical field in the near future".
Bandages Made From Crab Shells
A new medical dressing helps skin wounds heal faster. Its innovative ingredient is the structural material in the skeletons, scales and shells of marine animals and insects.
Called chitin (KY-tin), this polymer is second only to plant cellulose as nature’s most abundant material. And as a natural waste produced by seafood processors, it costs little.
The backbone of chitin is a string of molecules made from glucose, a simple sugar. Each glucose in that string has been acetylated (Ah-SEE-Tyl-ay-tud). That means each carries a group of atoms that include one oxygen, two carbons, and three hydrogens (including the fourth hydrogen attached to the nitrogen).
Those acetyl groups make chitin water-repellent. Removing some of them makes chitin easier to work with.
For their new gauze, the researchers ground up the shells of crabs, shrimp, and lobsters. Then they soaked the gritty bits in special solvents for 12 hours. Heating, bleaching, and other processes turned the chitin-rich solution into moist fibers.
Those chemical treatments could remove more than half of the acetyl groups. Zhou’s group then made fibers that contained different amounts of acetylated glucose.
A special machine-spun those fibers into a fabric. Fattening the fabric between two hot steel sheets left it looking like the gauze people have long used as a wound dressing or bandage. No weaving or stitching needed.
Now Crab Can Heal Us Through Shell!!
Written By - Bhagyadeep Jena
Edited By - Gunika Manchanda
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