In my opinion the chitosan should be washed when it is in base form (it should not gel), after the hydrolysis with NaOH. Then, after acidification it will became a gel and adding water it will disperse and viscosizing the solution.

If effshells contains chitin, yes (in my opinion)

As a first step I would try the extraction method in the video. Best regards

Yes both are OK. Best R

@@sasarello8124 Additionally, will there be any other substitutes for hydrochloric acid? I find it difficult to find it in my country (Philippines)

@@renz.5592 This is difficult. Someones used formic acid, but this is even more difficult to find. You could try with acetic acid but I cannot guarantee the result. Sulfuric acid can work, may be in the initial decarbonization phase, but I would not suggest its use in the final phase (salification of the chitosan aminic form).

I think yes. You can try depositing a thin layer on a glass slide and wait, the nature of the gel will cause it to flow and decrease in thickness. Alternatively, you can deposit a more diluted solution and wait for the excess water to evaporate by decreasing the thickness

I think yes. Moreover the borate into the gel may work as preservative

Hi, in the video I talk about extrusion (with a syringe) but it is a solution of NMNO, water and cellulose. However, the cellulose extruded with this method is not thermoplastic. There are thermoplastic cellulose derivatives such as cellulose acetate. I am not aware of any elastic cellulosic derivatives.

Obtained material is flexible?

​​@@sasarello8124obtained in the end video material is flexible and air proof?

@@ГориславЭль-Норман Yes, it is flexible

I think that graphene/graphene oxide can be incorporated but I don't know if it will be conductive.

I think I would not be self-healing.

I think yes you can do it.

Hi, if you go into this site: www.establish-fp7.eu/resources/units/chitosan-%E2%80%93-fatmagnet.html you will find detailed pdf(s) with synthesis, analysis etc. Regards

Or you can send me your email. Regards

Just a crazy idea: add more glycerol in the recipe, this should slow down the speed of crosslinking or inhibit it. Then, whasing the hydrogel in water the glycerol could be extracted. I can not guarantee that this will work. Best

Hi, Unfortunately for 1Kg of shells 750 ml of NaOH 2% are probably not enough (I treated 15 grams of shell with 750 ml NaOH 2%). To try to use as less as possibile of NaOH I suggest to try to add at least 1 liter of NaOH 2% and then add more NaOH solution to wet and cover all the shells. I hope this helps.

thank you sir! so it means that the important thing is all of the shells are covered? @@sasarello8124

thank you, sir. so the important thing is it gets covered by the solution? @@sasarello8124

Vitamin B12 was used just to color the gel. Regards

Thank you for answering!@@sasarello8124

Thank you very much for answering! ​@@sasarello8124

Hello, to my knowledge it is used mainly as a toy for kids. In my opinion it could be used to create patches. Regards

@@sasarello8124 Oh, thanks) I'll do it soon

Unfortunately I did not measure the DA. Best

The article I think most usefull is on: zdch.uj.edu.pl/documents/87419401/94640242/ESTABLISH_Chitosan2_ANG.pdf - if not work, try to google: european science and technology in action: chitosan fat magnet. Best regards

Dear Joshua, Yes you could use cyanocobalamine. Best R

Dear Jude, I am sorry but I can not attach any document. You should send me an email address... Best regards

Hi mr sasarello I have sent you an email

​@judematthewbatdidan1236 did he reply ?

In this site: www.establish-fp7.eu/resources/units/chitosan-%E2%80%93-fatmagnet.html you will find a lot of pdf documents with methods. Regards

Hi in: www.establish-fp7.eu/resources/units/chitosan-%E2%80%93-fatmagnet.html there are a lot of pdf with methods.

Not safe, It should be done in a lab with suitable equipment. Like in the video. Also don't forget personal protection equipment (gloves, glasses, labcoat)

Hi,, you need to neutralize the chitosan by adding an acid (e.g. chloridric, acetic, lactic...). You can starting adding a small amount of diluted acid and then stirring and observing: at a certain point a gel of chitosan (strenght depending on the MW of chitosan) will be formed.

@@sasarello8124Hi! Can you make a video about it and how you do it? It would be a big help

Eu também gostaria de ver um vídeo sobre a solubilização das diferentes quitosanas extraídas pelo seu método!

Dear Jude, Sorry but I do not have a paper about this study. Small amounts can be prepared using a mortar

@@sasarello8124 Hi! Thank you for replying to my message but how can I make the chitosan water soluble because I am planning to make wrapper that can preserve or prolong shelf life of vegetables

Dear, I my opinion the amine form can be better vs, eg, the HCl neutralized because you will not introduce Cl ions. On the other side, using the amine base form you have to check if the soil became more alkaline (but I think it does not). Best regards

Andrei, May be you can do without stirring (magnetic or mechanic) but it would be better to stirr.

Dear Annika, I did not try with mushrooms. Howeverr, I think that the procedure could work even if chitosan into mushroom is complexed with polysaccharides, e.g. in form of chitin-glucan complex. best regards

Hi Eslam, I decided to start first with deproteinization because this operation can remove proteins before they became eventually denaturated. If you start with HCl you could denaturate proteins making them more resistant to removal. However, I think it is possible to start first with acid to remove carbonate; may be using less concentrated HCl solution and several acid treatments. Starting with 100 g of dried shrimp shells I obtained 40 g of chitin and then, after chitin hydrolysis, 20 g of chitosan (in amine form). Best regards, Alessandro

Yes, but only in lab experiments. Not for real application! Best regards

Dear Justin, I strongly do not recommend any medical applications. These experiments are for hobby fun only. Best regards

Dear jeff, the recipe was: 58 g of a 1.5% Guar gum and 5% glycerin solution mixed with 7.5 ml of a 4% borax solution. If we consider approximately the density of such solutions equal to 1, 65.5 ml (58+7.5) of final material will contain 1.33% guar, 4.43% glycerin, 0.46% borax and so 100-1.33-4.43-0.46= 93.75 ml of water.

I am specifically referring to 4:05 in the video, when you mentioned decreasing the water content for a denser hydrogel. Thus instead of 1.5% guar gum, what was the higher concentration?

Dear Jeff, honestry the samples was left to dry at room temperture and so it lost moisture. Unfortunately I can't retrieve the exact number. Two suggestions: 1) prepare the 1.5% guar gum gel as in the video and let it to loose moisture (room T or into a ventilated oven at 40°C) or 2) start directly with an higer concentration of guar gum (e.g. 2%) but in this case will be difficult to prepare a gel with high concentration of polymer. I would prefer the first method 1)@@JeffYuYaoChiun

@@sasarello8124 Thanks kindly. This is good guidance and I'll experiment a bit.

As first step I would run an FT-IR spectra. Best regards