Bovine serum albumin is the key protein in blood. Chitin is a widely used biocompatible polymer inbioengineering and it is mainly found as two allomorphs (a, b). In this study the interactions of a-chitin(from the insect Omophlus sp.) and b-chitin (from the cuttlebone of Sepia sp.) with BSA were studied. Chitin isolates were examined by SEM, XRD, BET, TGA and FTIR. b-Chitin exhibited a far higher affinity forBSA than a-chitin, indicating a-chitin can be used in applications where surface–protein interactionsshould be limited, and b-chitin can be used in chitin-based materials on which protein adsorption isdesired.