What is Chitin?
[[File:Young grasshopper on grass stalk02.jpg|right|thumb|The entire exterior of a [[grasshopper]] is chitin.]] '''Chitin'''<ref> ([[carbon|C]]<sub>8</sub>[[hydrogen|H]]<sub>13</sub>[[oxygen|O]]<sub>5</sub>[[nitrogen|N]])<sub>n</sub> ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]: {{IPA|[ˈkaɪtn̩]}}) is a long-chain [[polymer]]ic [[polysaccharide]] of [[glucose|beta-glucose]] that forms a hard, semitransparent material found throughout the natural world.</ref> is a semitransparent material that is the main component of the [[exoskeleton]]s of [[arthropod]]s, such as [[crustacean]]s (e.g. [[crab]], [[lobster]] and [[shrimp]]) and [[insect]]s (e.g. [[ants]], [[beetles]] and [[butterflies]]), of the [[cell wall]]s of [[fungi]], the [[radula]] of [[mollusc]]s and the beaks of [[cephalopod]]s (e.g. [[squid]], and [[octopuses]]). Chitin has also proven useful for several medical and industrial purposes. [[File:Lepidoptera 001.jpg|thumb|right|A [[butterfly]]'s head and chest are covered with plates of hard chitin, while the abdomen is covered with soft chitin. The wings also are a chitinous membrane.]] == References == <references/> == Other websites == * [http://www.greatvistachemicals.com/biochemicals/chitin.html Chitin Product Information from China GreatVista Chemicals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620081455/http://www.greatvistachemicals.com/biochemicals/chitin.html |date=2006-06-20 }} * [http://www.ocean.udel.edu/horseshoecrab/Research/chitin.html Horseshoe Crab Chitin Research] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626025232/http://www.ocean.udel.edu/horseshoecrab/research/chitin.html |date=2009-06-26 }} [[Category:Carbohydrates]] [[Category:Macromolecules]] [[Category:Polymers]] [[Category:Natural materials]]