Conclusion
Direct application of chitin in the food industry has been limited by its poor aqueous solubility. Through a simple treatment by dissolving chitin in phosphoric acid and then regenerating it in water, we have successfully prepared chitin nanofibers with better dispersibility, which form stable suspensions at concentrations higher than 0.50% and self-supporting gels at concentrations higher than 1.00%. Additionally, these nanofibers can stabilize oil-in-water emulsions with an internal phase volume greater than 0.50 at chitin usage level of 0.01 g/g oil through the Pickering mechanism. Our findings allow the direct application of the as-prepared chitin nanofibers in the food industry as a gelling material and emulsion stabilizer, which offer a novel way of utilizing chitin biomass without chemical modifications