Reginaflor Glorioso '21

Major: Natural Sciences
Bio: Reginaflor is a NYC resident currently studying Natural Sciences at Fordham University. She has had a love for science since her early childhood and seeks to continue her education at St. John’s University by studying Biological and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology.

Title of Research: Chitin Solubility in Salt Solutions
Partner:  Nour Aborageh
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Marie Thomas
Abstract: Chitin is a cheap bio-renewable and bio-degradable resource that has the potential to decrease our reliance on petroleum feedstocks. Chitin is completely insoluble in most organic and inorganic solvents; however, it hits all the criteria in terms of diversified functionalities in applications. For our project, we used lithium chloride/dimethylacetamide (LiCl/DMA) as our solvent to dissolve chitin. LiCl/DMA is a solvent that other scientists have used to dissolve chitin bringing favorable results; chitin that was dissolved became more malleable and was regenerated into films, threads and microspheres. However, the parameters for dissolution were not clear in the literature. Dr. Thomas and I worked together over the summer to determine the best parameters for dissolution of chitin in LiCl/DMA, so that we could apply them to processes that will be developed using ionic liquids.