Chitosan has been a “promising” biomaterial for fifty years due to the superior material properties and the diverse biological activities reported, but chitosan-based products were slow to enter the market due to poor reproducibility in production processes and product performances. This picture is changing now as chitosan-based products are increasingly appearing on the markets, and these are not only products based on the material properties of the chitosans, but also on their biological functionalities. Recently, demand for chitosans has for the first time been exceeding the supply of high quality material available. And chitosan has been classified as a “basic substance” by the European Commission in 2014, offering great opportunities for a bright future, in particular for chitosans in agriculture. In this exciting situation, we are inviting you to join us in Münster, to learn about the latest developments concerning chitosans and their derivatives, about new ways to biotechnologically produce, modify, and analyse chitosans, as well as about new and upcoming chitosan-based products and markets. Come to meet and interact with academic and industrial scientists, with producers and users of chitosans. 12thEUCHIS / ICCC13th will particularly focus on being a platform for young scientists to share their results and ideas, and on bridging the gap between academic research and industrial product or process development. The conference will be preceded by a Young Researchers Symposium reserved for doctoral and early post-doctoral researchers, and followed by a Technical Workshop on analytical tools for structural and functional analyses of chitin and chitosans. We will reserve plenty of time for an interactive Poster Sessions, organize an Exhibition of ongoing large chitosan-related projects, chitosan-based products, and chitosan-relevant technologies, and offer match-making opportunities to meet with other participants of your choice, in particular to facilitate discussions between young and experienced researchers, as well as between scientists from academia and industry. More information at: www.chitin2015.eu
