The cost-effective production of commercially important biopolymers, such as chitosan, has gained momentum in recent decades owing to its versatile material properties. The seasonal variability in the availability of crustacean waste and fish waste, routinely used for chitosan extraction, has triggered a focus on fungal chitosan as a sustainable alternative. This study demonstrates a cost-effective strategy for cultivating an endophytic fungus isolated from Pichavaram mangrove soil in a pineapple peel-based medium for harvesting fungal biomass. Chitosan was extracted using alkali and acid treatment methods from various combinations of media. The highest chitosan yield (139 ± 0.25 mg/L) was obtained from the pineapple peel waste-derived medium supplemented with peptone. The extracted polymer was characterized by FTIR, XRD, DSC, and TGA analysis. The antioxidant activity of the fungal chitosan was evaluated using DPPH assay and showed an IC₅₀ value of 0.22 mg/L. Subsequently, a transparent chitosan film was fabricated using the extracted fungal chitosan, and its biodegradability was assessed using a soil burial test for 50 days. Biodegradation tests revealed that, after 50 days, a degradation rate of 28.92 ± 0.75% (w/w) was recorded. Thus, this study emphasizes a cost-effective strategy for the production of biopolymers with significant antioxidant activity, which may have promising applications in food packaging if additional investigations are carried out in the future.

Effluents and contaminants released from the industries are needed to be treated before releasing them to water bodies. Most common effluents from these industrial wastes are organic compounds, dyes and heavy metals. Heavy metals and their associated anions, as well as organic material, have been separated from wastewaters in industries using a variety of methods. Adsorption is an effective method for water treatment as they are less energy consuming and cost effective. Biopolymers such as chitosan, cellulose, keratin are used for the process of adsorption as they are present abundantly and recyclable. Chitosan is a deacetylated product of chitin. Chitosan and its derivatives are extremely essential due to their abundant availability, low cost, environmental friendliness, and biodegradability and can be widely applied in wastewater treatment. -NH2 and -OH groups are present in chitosan and provide chitosan an opportunity to make physical and chemical modifications. Modifications of chitosan into hydrogels and nanocomposites provide wider applications in wastewater treatment.

The battle of the human race with genetic disorders was prevailing from the time immemorial. Revolutions and modernizations in science and technology have clearly improved our understanding regarding the molecular basis of genetic disorders thereby aiding in designing new therapeutic interventions in their treatment and prevention. With the advent and development of gene therapy in the last few decades, promising windows were opened for treatment and prevention of genetic disorders and cancer. Despite of its remarkable significance in medicine, the common practice of using viral vectors as gene delivery agents has created controversies and concerns among the scientific community. This made the research focus on biobased polymers as alternative non-viral vector systems for gene and drug delivery for treating genetic disorders and cancer. Chitosan is a cationic polymer that can be easily tailored to serve as gene and drug delivery due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. Their structural integrity and stability have made them widely used for various applications in the biomedical field. Chitosan and its derivatives have gained more attention as vectors for gene delivery and cancer therapy in the past decade. The amenability of structural modification, non-toxicity and high biodegradability of chitosan derivatives can make them prospective carriers for controlled drug delivery in future.