Chitin is a nitrogenous polysaccharide found in the exoskeleton of the tarantula. It's a tough semitransparent horny substance; the principal component of the exoskeletons of arthropods and the cell walls of certain fungi. The dense substance forming the indigestible outer skeleton of insects, and the material from which the walls of the mycelia are made. This product can be found in crustaceans, such as crabs, lobsters, and shrimp. It can also be found in insects, worms, and fungus, or mushrooms. The thing about chitin is that it is a natural polymer, which means that it is found in nature. In the creatures where chitin is found, it is in different percentages depending on the place.
Chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (after cellulose). At least 10 gigatons of chitin are synthesized and degraded each year in the biosphere. Chitin mainly consists of the aminosugar N-acetylglucosamine, which is partially deacetylated. The mostly deacetylated form of chitin is called chitosan. Chitin is present in nature usually complexed with other polysaccharides and with proteins. It is a renewable resource and is isolated from crab and shrimp waste. It is used for waste water clearing, for cosmetics and for medical and verterinary applications.
Chitin hydrolyzes b-1,4-linkage of chitin, a polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and exhibits chitosanase and chitinase activity, but no chitobiase activity. Chitinase can be used for the lysis of mycelial cell walls of filamentous fungi of mushroom, since the fungal cell walls contain chitin as one of the major structural components.
