Biotechnological Production of Fungal Biopolymers Chitin and Chitosan: Their Potential Biomedical and Industrial Applications

Background: Fungal chitin and chitosan have emerged as the most versatile and promising functional biopolymers with technologically potent biotechnological applications. They have a wide array of applications due to their outstanding features such as non toxicity, biodegradability, biocompatibility and eco-friendly. The biotechnological production of chitin and chitosan from fungal sources has gained extensive worldwide attention in the recent years due to their potential and technological advantages over conventional production of chitin and chitosan from the shell wastes of Crustacea, such as shrimp, crab, prawn and crayfish. Methods: We review technical papers, reviews and other articles related to fungal chitin and chitosan, which have emerged as the most versatile and promising functional biopolymers with technologically potent biotechnological applications. Results: This review recapitulates the recent advances in the biotechnological production of fungal chitin, chitosan and their derivatives, and with focus on their application in pharmaceuticals, food industries, agricultural and environmental sectors and in the treatment of industrial effluents. Conclusion: Fungal biotechnology offers advantages in the production of fungal chitin and chitosan over classical processing procedures because these materials can be produced in a controlled environment throughout the year and the extraction process is simple, economically attractive and requires less harsh solvents resulting in reductions in the time and cost of production.