**47. Conclusions**

Scientific databases reveal thousands of articles and patents related to chitin, chitosan and its derivatives and increasingly opens up new possibilities to produce new derivatives as well as new applications.

The answer to the question if the chitosan is a "new panacea", is given by the multiple applications for this new biopolymer and its predecessor, the chitin. Two hundred years have passed since its discovery and this biopolymer has shown unique qualities that many other polymers do not have, as it can be applied in different areas like in the agricultural and medical field or in related areas such as pharmacy and biomedical.

As seen in this chapter, chitosan's behavior in different applications within diverse areas, is governed by its molecular weight, degree of deacetylation, degree of polymerization and source of obtention. Twenty years ago the articles published did not provide data on the characterization of material but today most papers focus on the properties of the polymer before the application.

Also, through the study of this biopolymer and due to the great demand of chitin and chitosan, it is very important to direct all efforts to seek methods of production through environment-friendly processes and on the other hand, through genetic engineering methods, finding the way to produce a more uniform material with characteristics previously designed, especially for medical or pharmaceutical items.
