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International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences Research Article
Extraction and evaluation of antimicrobial properties of chitosan derived from marine crab shells
Reshma B.P, K. Narayanasamy, N. Nirmala Devi, Sidharth K, Parvathy Menon P.R and R. Ragunathan
Year : 2026 | Volume: 11 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 100-107
Received on: 28/12/2025
Revised on: 21/01/2026
Accepted on: 19/02/2026
Published on: 01/03/2026
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Reshma B.P, K. Narayanasamy, N. Nirmala Devi, Sidharth K, Parvathy Menon P.R and R. Ragunathan( 2026).
Extraction and evaluation of antimicrobial properties of chitosan derived from marine crab shells
. International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences, 11( 2), 100-107.
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Abstract
Chitosan has received growing attention since it is biocompatible, biodegradable, and possesses significant antimicrobial potentials. The marine crustacean shell wastes (especially the sea crab shells) are rich sources of chitin and can be utilized as good raw materials in the production of chitosan. This paper is about the process of producing chitosan using shells of sea crabs and assessing its chemical structure and anti-microbial efficiency to determine whether it can be used in industry. Chitosan was obtained using 100 g of dried sea crab shells through a three-step procedure (deproteinization, demineralization, and deacetylation) and was analysed by UV-Vis spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. The antibacterial properties of the samples were evaluated against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhi, whereas antifungal properties tested against Aspergillus niger, A. flavus and A. terreus. UV -Vis provided the result of strong absorption in wavelength range at 225.0 nm, 275.0 nm and 310.0 nm. The presence of important functional groups such as amine, hydroxyl, nitrile and alkene was confirmed in FTIR spectra, which confirms the successful production of chitosan. The antimicrobial activity was also found to be powerful specifically against Bacillus cereus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The Antifungal activity was selective and inhibition was noted significantly on Aspergillu sterreus. The retrieved chitosan evidenced positive potential of antimicrobial substance such that sea crab shell waste is a solid source of production of green chitosan. These results facilitate its use as natural antimicrobial agent across industrial sectors. Chitosan isolated using the sea crab shell displayed a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and a specific antifungal action. Functional structural characterization established effective synthesis of chitosan. These findings underscore the feasibility of its usage as a renewable biopolymer to prevent the growth of microbes.
Keywords
Chitosan, Sea crab shell, Antibacterial activity, Antifungal activity, UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR.
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© The Author(s) 2025. This article is published by International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (creativecommons.org), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
