Royal Society fellowship brings Teesside scientist into insect-chitosan company Entoplast
LONDON & TEESSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, 15TH OCTOBER 2026 – Entoplast, the UK biomaterials company supplying chitin and chitosan from black soldier fly larvae and fungal sources, has welcomed Dr Omar Aboelazayem of Teesside University as a Royal Society Short Industry Fellow.
The fellowship builds on a collaboration between Entoplast and Teesside University that has run for more than three years. Together, the partners have developed sustainable extraction and processing technologies that produce high-quality chitin and chitosan from alternative biological sources, using greener methods in place of the harsh acids used in conventional shellfish-based extraction.
Through research, process optimisation, life-cycle assessment and scale-up, Entoplast has moved from an initial concept to supplying bespoke, application-specific grades of chitosan for industrial evaluation.
Chitosan is a natural biopolymer with a wide range of uses, from settling solids in water treatment to coating paper, protecting crops and supporting wound healing. Most commercial supply is made from crustacean shell waste, which brings shellfish-allergen concerns, batch-to-batch variability and limited traceability. Entoplast makes its chitosan from controlled, traceable insect and fungal feedstocks as part of a circular bioeconomy.
Entoplast is currently developing tailored products for:
• Water and wastewater treatment
• Construction runoff treatment
• Paper and packaging coatings
• Fibre recovery and recycling
• Agricultural and plant health products
• Wine clarification and processing
• Wound care
Royal Society Short Industry Fellowships support researchers to move between UK universities and industry on collaborative projects. During the fellowship, Dr Aboelazayem will work alongside the Entoplast team on market engagement, customer development, technical validation and strategic growth, helping to speed up adoption of the company's sustainable materials.
"This fellowship is an important recognition of what our partnership with Teesside University has achieved," said Malcolm Mackenzie, co-founder of Entoplast. "Combining industrial ambition with academic expertise has given us a strong technical foundation and scalable products."
"Having Omar working inside the business puts us in a strong position for the next stage: getting our materials into customers' hands and proving their performance at industrial scale."
Dr Omar Aboelazayem, Royal Society Short Industry Fellow at Entoplast, said: "After three years of developing this technology in the lab and at pilot scale, the fellowship lets me work directly with the companies that will use it. Testing our materials against real customer specifications is the fastest way to turn good science into products that industry can adopt."
Entoplast is now inviting companies in these sectors to take part in application trials. Samples and technical data are available on request from hello@entoplast.com
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