Characteristics of Chitosan in Gonggong Snail Shells in 2022

Abstract

Chitosan biopolymer is effectively depolymerized to release N-acetyl-β-D-glucosamine
to initiate fibroblast proliferation during the wound healing process. This research was
the first step to explore natural wound topical ingredients of the Riau Islands which
were appropriate for use in the wound healing process. The objective of this research
was to extract and describe the characteristics of chitosan produced from gonggong
snail shells. The extraction of chitosan in the shell of the gonggong snail begun with
cleaning it from dirt, drying it and drying it under the sun. Then the shell of the
gonggong snail was crushed to form flakes and then the process of demineralization,
deproteinization and deacetylization was conducted. Then the chitosan obtained was
characterized to determine the quality of the chitosan produced. The characterization
included tests for water content, ash content, solubility in 2% acetic acid and ionization
degree. This research was carried out in the Chemical Laboratory of Padang State
University in May 2022. The stages of this research were preparation of gonggong snail
shell samples, manufacture of chitosan and then determine the characteristics of
chitosan. After doing the research, the results of the characteristics of chitosan
included water content of 0.71% in 100 grams of sample, 95.90% ash content in 100
grams of sample, soluble solubility and ionization degree of 79.8821% in 100 grams of
sample.