Preparation and some properties of variously deacetylated chitin fibers.

Variously deacetylated chitin (DAC) fibers were prepared by several coagulant systems, such as CuSO4-NH4OH, alcoholic sodium hydroxide and CuSO4-H2SO4. These fibers were found to have similar tensile properties independent of the spinning conditions. But the higher degree of protein immobilization was observed for DAC fiber prepared from CuSO4-NH4OH coagulant than those by other systems. The tensile properties of DAC fibers, especially wet properties and knot strength, were improved remarkably comparing with those of chitin and alkyl-chitin fibers.