A "water-soluble form of chitin" -- the stuff you have to peel off your shrimp, which is the same stuff that goes crunch when you step on a cockroach -- is already being used by the army and is set to be tested in space:
The US Army equips its troops in Iraq with chitosan-laden bandages both
to speed blood clotting in fresh wounds, and to stop bacterial
infections. NASA does not expect astronauts to fight battles in space,
but has to plan for accidents, and worries that slow healing or
infection of wounds could imperil long-duration missions to Mars or
other distant targets. . . .Chitosan is a water-soluble form of chitin, an abundant long-chain
natural biopolymer that is a key component of the semi-transparent
exoskeletons of arthropods from insects to lobsters, and in the cell
walls of fungi.Some researchers believe natural chitin helps protect arthropods from bacterial infection, important because they lack a conventional immune system. The soluble chitosan carries a positive charge that attracts the negatively charged membranes of bacteria, stopping them from multiplying and in some cases killing them. The charge also initiates clotting of red blood cells.
The shrimp photo comes from Fine Cooking
Mmmm...gumbo.