Скачать или смотреть How to Extract Fungal Chitin (Part 1/2) | Preparation Setup

This is Part 1 of our 2-part series on how to extract fungal chitin from 2 kg of oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.).

Fungal chitin—or more accurately, the chitin–glucan complex—is often described as the fungal version of "rebar in concrete." In this structure, chitin acts as the rigid rod that provides mechanical strength, while glucan serves as the flexible matrix that offers elasticity and resilience. Together, they form a tough and functional component of the fungal cell wall, supporting growth, maintaining shape, and helping the organism survive under environmental stress.

The isolation of this biopolymer opens up diverse possibilities for application in nanomembranes, sustainable packaging and paper, biomedical materials, and more.

In this first video, we explain the underlying theory behind fungal cell walls, demonstrate the laboratory setup, and walk through the initial preparation steps—such as sample handling, dry weight determination, and slow freezing pre-treatment. This video is particularly useful for researchers planning chitin extraction at larger scales in laboratory, helping you anticipate the necessary equipment, workflow, and handling considerations.

0:00 Chitin from Mushrooms
1:20 Theory behind Fungal Chitin Extraction
4:32 Setup for Extraction Process
11:47 Setup for Filtration process
17:35 Preparing Mushroom Sample
19:31 Determining Fresh Mushroom Dry Weight
22:56 Sample Pre-treatment by Slow Freezing

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