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Solid state characterization of α-chitin from Vanessa cardui Linnaeus wings
Journal article   Open access

Solid state characterization of α-chitin from Vanessa cardui Linnaeus wings

Jessica D Schiffman and Caroline L Schauer
Materials Science & Engineering C, v 29(4), pp 1370-1374
2009
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2008.11.006
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2008.11.006View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)Maybe Open Access (Publisher Bronze),  Open

Abstract

Polysaccharides Chitin Biopolymers Biomaterials Polymorphism
Material properties of the painted lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui Linnaeus were investigated using typical material science techniques. The examined butterflies were raised and hatched from the larvae stage and their chemical and crystalline structure evaluated and compared to that of crab shell (α-chitin) and squid pens from Notodarus sloanii and Loligo pealei (β-chitin). Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the painted lady butterflies are composed of α-chitin. Additionally, macro- and microstructure characterization of the chitins was conducted utilizing digital photography and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). This work demonstrates that common characterization techniques combined with simple sample preparation of biological materials can yield successful material characterization, which could aide the fabrication of biomimetic materials.

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Web of Science research areas
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
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