Life Sciences & Biotechnology
Title : | Chitin -glucan complex nanofibers from fungal mycelium and their implication in biomaterials through tuning of surface and mechanical properties |
Area of research : | Life Sciences & Biotechnology |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Knawang Chhunji Sherpa, CSIR- National Institute For Interdisciplinary Science And Technology (NIIST), Kerala |
Timeline Start Year : | 2023 |
Timeline End Year : | 2026 |
Contact info : | kcsherpa@niist.res.in |
Equipments : | Centrifuge
Hot plate stirrer with temperature
Incubator shaker
Shaking waterbath |
Details
Executive Summary : | The incorporation of biological resources in material science is a step toward transitioning into a sustainable economy. The fungal mycelium has good tensile strength owing to the presence of chitin in its cell wall. Chitin is found as structural support in crustaceans, insects and cell wall of fungi and can be extracted in the form of nanofibers. Although cellulose nanofibers have better physicochemical properties, chitin nanofibers have also been emerging with the potential to reach the same strength as its counterpart. Cellulose derived from trees and plants takes years to grow however, fungal chitin can be extracted in weeks. Besides, the cellulose extraction procedure is energy-intensive which is not the case for fungal chitin. Currently, chitin and its derivatives are supplied from season and region-dependent crustaceans that also contain tropomyosin, an allergenic protein. People’s preference for adopting non-animal-based products is another reason for the increase in demand for fungal-based products. The conventional method of chitin extraction from crustacean shells are demineralization, deproteination, and decoloration which requires acids and alkalis that is harmful to the environment. The absence of minerals in fungi thus removes the acid extraction step. The association of branched amorphous β-glucan with linear chitin aids in improving the tensile property of chitin nanofibers and is absent in animal chitin which is an added benefit. As nutrition, environment and the type of species influence the quantity and quality of chitin, the present project proposes to probe into the fermentation conditions using white-rot fungi such as Pleurotus ostreatus and a newly isolated fungal strain. Owing to the controlled growth fermentation conditions, the physico-chemical properties of chitin remain consistent unlike animal-derived chitin. Investigation for improved chitin production would probe into the inducing agents and will also study the industrial agro liquid waste as a source for nutrition for rapid fungal growth rate since chitin yield from animal source is comparatively higher. The next step in CGC extraction will be conducted by employing enzymatic deproteination using protease and in addition, will also study the coupling of chemical and enzymatic deproteination processes with the aim of adopting a mild extraction method. As the chitin exists in the form of nanofibers in the structural framework of animals and fungi, the extracted CGC nanofiber can serve as nano paper, sheets or films. The preparation of nanopaper from CGC nanofibers from a single fungal source and also hybrid nanopaper preparation by mixing yeast-derived CGC or cellulose nanofibers will be investigated to study their influence on the mechanical and surface properties of the nanopapers. An insight into such studies will help in environmentally sustainable exploitation of nanopaper as membrane, filters, packaging material or in a new generation of materials. |
Total Budget (INR): | 48,16,893 |
Organizations involved