chitin
a nitrogen-containing polysaccharide, related chemically to cellulose, that forms a semitransparent horny substance and is a principal constituent of the exoskeleton, or outer covering, of insects, crustaceans, and arachnids.
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Origin of chitin
1Other words from chitin
- chi·tin·ous, chi·tin·oid, adjective
Words Nearby chitin
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use chitin in a sentence
To test how much acetylation in the fiber’s chitin worked best, the researchers used 18 rats.
Bandages made from crab shells speed healing | Silke Schmidt | April 14, 2021 | Science News For StudentsSince chitin excels at fighting germs, Zhou’s team suspects the new dressing also would cut the risk of infections.
Bandages made from crab shells speed healing | Silke Schmidt | April 14, 2021 | Science News For StudentsThe best-performing chitin gauze sped the growth of new skin cells and blood vessels.
Bandages made from crab shells speed healing | Silke Schmidt | April 14, 2021 | Science News For StudentsDressings made from chitin with 71 percent of acetylated glucose worked best of all.
Bandages made from crab shells speed healing | Silke Schmidt | April 14, 2021 | Science News For StudentsHis group knew that chitin could help fight germs and had been shown to sometimes promote wound healing.
Bandages made from crab shells speed healing | Silke Schmidt | April 14, 2021 | Science News For Students
From end to end of the tube is a fine thread of chitin twisted in a close spiral like a spring.
Little Busybodies | Jeanette Augustus Marks and Julia MoodyYou see, the chitin acts both as armor-plate for the soft parts and also as a firm support to the many muscles.
Little Busybodies | Jeanette Augustus Marks and Julia MoodyIf, then, this tissue of Pteraspis is not to be looked upon as chitin, how can we imagine its formation?
The Origin of Vertebrates | Walter Holbrook GaskellThis layer is easily dissolved in a solution of hypochlorite of soda, a fluid which dissolves chitin.
The Origin of Vertebrates | Walter Holbrook GaskellThis cuticle is very much thicker than is usually found in vertebrates, and, strangely enough, has been thought to contain chitin.
The Origin of Vertebrates | Walter Holbrook Gaskell
British Dictionary definitions for chitin
/ (ˈkaɪtɪn) /
a polysaccharide that is the principal component of the exoskeletons of arthropods and of the bodies of fungi
Origin of chitin
1Derived forms of chitin
- chitinous, adjective
- chitinoid, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for chitin
[ kīt′n ]
A tough, semitransparent substance that is the main component of the exoskeletons of arthropods, such as the shells of crustaceans and the outer coverings of insects. Chitin is also found in the cell walls of certain fungi and algae. Chemically, it is a nitrogenous polysaccharide (a carbohydrate).
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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