Understanding the correlation between source and chiral, physichochemical properties of chitin nanocrystals; insights from beetle (Cetonia aurata) skeletal segments

Aurelija Ramanauskaitė; Povilas Mulerčikas; Heather F. Greer; Muhammad Mujtaba; Jalel Labidi; Murat Kaya

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.138042

Understanding the correlation between source and chiral, physichochemical properties of chitin nanocrystals; insights from beetle (Cetonia aurata) skeletal segments

Aurelija Ramanauskaitė, Povilas Mulerčikas, Heather F. Greer, Muhammad Mujtaba^*, Jalel Labidi^*, Murat Kaya^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

BA5205 Chemical and polymer synthesis

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

Chitin properties are known to vary depending on animal taxa, organismal source, and specific skeletal segments; However, the influence of these source-dependent variations on the physicochemical characteristics of chitin nanocrystals, particularly their Bouligand architecture, remains largely unexplored. Herein, chitin nanocrystals were isolated from seven different skeletal segments of C. aurata and characterized. Significant variation was observed in nanocrystal size, with wing-derived nanocrystals averaging 320 ± 127 nm and abdomen-derived nanocrystals 203 ± 104 nm, while surface charges ranged, with thorax-1 exhibiting the highest (45.68 ± 1.2 mV). All characteristic peaks were observed for both chitin and chitin nanocrystals, with the latter displaying sharper peaks and a slight increase in crystallinity, attributed to the removal of amorphous regions. Wing-derived chitin nanocrystals showed the highest thermal stability (372 °C), potentially due to lower surface area. Chitin nanocrystals-based films were produced to investigate the chiral behavior of isolated chitin nanocrystals. All the films displayed a unique helicoidal Bouligand structure with visible pitches, except those from thorax-1. The formation of mesophase (unclear pitch in Bouligand architecture) in thorax-1 films is likely due to nanocrystal dimensions and surface charges. This is further supported by the lower roughness and contact angle values observed in thorax-1 films.

Original language	English
Article number	138042
Journal	International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Volume	284
Early online date	1 Nov 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.138042
Publication status	Published - Jan 2025
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

MM is thankful for the necessary support provided by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland during the study. M.K. is grateful to Maria Zambrano Visiting Fellowship (NEXT GENERATION EU (MARIA ZAMBRANO- MAZAM22/22). We acknowledge the EPSRC Underpinning Multi-User Equipment Call ( EP/P030467/1 ) for funding the TEM at the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge . This project received partly funding from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Sports of the Republic of Lithuania under Science Development Program Progress Measure No. 12-001-01-01-01 "Improving the Science and Study Environment" of the Program "University Excellence Initiative" Project "Development of the Bioeconomy Research Center of Excellence" (BioTEC).

Keywords

Bouligand structure
Chitin
Films
Insect skeletal segments
Self-assembly

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10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.138042Licence: CC BY

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Ramanauskaitė, A., Mulerčikas, P., Greer, H. F., Mujtaba, M., Labidi, J., & Kaya, M. (2025). Understanding the correlation between source and chiral, physichochemical properties of chitin nanocrystals; insights from beetle (Cetonia aurata) skeletal segments. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 284, Article 138042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.138042

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abstract = "Chitin properties are known to vary depending on animal taxa, organismal source, and specific skeletal segments; However, the influence of these source-dependent variations on the physicochemical characteristics of chitin nanocrystals, particularly their Bouligand architecture, remains largely unexplored. Herein, chitin nanocrystals were isolated from seven different skeletal segments of C. aurata and characterized. Significant variation was observed in nanocrystal size, with wing-derived nanocrystals averaging 320 ± 127 nm and abdomen-derived nanocrystals 203 ± 104 nm, while surface charges ranged, with thorax-1 exhibiting the highest (45.68 ± 1.2 mV). All characteristic peaks were observed for both chitin and chitin nanocrystals, with the latter displaying sharper peaks and a slight increase in crystallinity, attributed to the removal of amorphous regions. Wing-derived chitin nanocrystals showed the highest thermal stability (372 °C), potentially due to lower surface area. Chitin nanocrystals-based films were produced to investigate the chiral behavior of isolated chitin nanocrystals. All the films displayed a unique helicoidal Bouligand structure with visible pitches, except those from thorax-1. The formation of mesophase (unclear pitch in Bouligand architecture) in thorax-1 films is likely due to nanocrystal dimensions and surface charges. This is further supported by the lower roughness and contact angle values observed in thorax-1 films.",

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Understanding the correlation between source and chiral, physichochemical properties of chitin nanocrystals; insights from beetle (Cetonia aurata) skeletal segments. / Ramanauskaitė, Aurelija; Mulerčikas, Povilas; Greer, Heather F. et al.
In: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Vol. 284, 138042, 01.2025.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Understanding the correlation between source and chiral, physichochemical properties of chitin nanocrystals; insights from beetle (Cetonia aurata) skeletal segments

AU - Ramanauskaitė, Aurelija

AU - Mulerčikas, Povilas

AU - Greer, Heather F.

AU - Mujtaba, Muhammad

AU - Labidi, Jalel

AU - Kaya, Murat

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N2 - Chitin properties are known to vary depending on animal taxa, organismal source, and specific skeletal segments; However, the influence of these source-dependent variations on the physicochemical characteristics of chitin nanocrystals, particularly their Bouligand architecture, remains largely unexplored. Herein, chitin nanocrystals were isolated from seven different skeletal segments of C. aurata and characterized. Significant variation was observed in nanocrystal size, with wing-derived nanocrystals averaging 320 ± 127 nm and abdomen-derived nanocrystals 203 ± 104 nm, while surface charges ranged, with thorax-1 exhibiting the highest (45.68 ± 1.2 mV). All characteristic peaks were observed for both chitin and chitin nanocrystals, with the latter displaying sharper peaks and a slight increase in crystallinity, attributed to the removal of amorphous regions. Wing-derived chitin nanocrystals showed the highest thermal stability (372 °C), potentially due to lower surface area. Chitin nanocrystals-based films were produced to investigate the chiral behavior of isolated chitin nanocrystals. All the films displayed a unique helicoidal Bouligand structure with visible pitches, except those from thorax-1. The formation of mesophase (unclear pitch in Bouligand architecture) in thorax-1 films is likely due to nanocrystal dimensions and surface charges. This is further supported by the lower roughness and contact angle values observed in thorax-1 films.

AB - Chitin properties are known to vary depending on animal taxa, organismal source, and specific skeletal segments; However, the influence of these source-dependent variations on the physicochemical characteristics of chitin nanocrystals, particularly their Bouligand architecture, remains largely unexplored. Herein, chitin nanocrystals were isolated from seven different skeletal segments of C. aurata and characterized. Significant variation was observed in nanocrystal size, with wing-derived nanocrystals averaging 320 ± 127 nm and abdomen-derived nanocrystals 203 ± 104 nm, while surface charges ranged, with thorax-1 exhibiting the highest (45.68 ± 1.2 mV). All characteristic peaks were observed for both chitin and chitin nanocrystals, with the latter displaying sharper peaks and a slight increase in crystallinity, attributed to the removal of amorphous regions. Wing-derived chitin nanocrystals showed the highest thermal stability (372 °C), potentially due to lower surface area. Chitin nanocrystals-based films were produced to investigate the chiral behavior of isolated chitin nanocrystals. All the films displayed a unique helicoidal Bouligand structure with visible pitches, except those from thorax-1. The formation of mesophase (unclear pitch in Bouligand architecture) in thorax-1 films is likely due to nanocrystal dimensions and surface charges. This is further supported by the lower roughness and contact angle values observed in thorax-1 films.

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DO - 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.138042

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VL - 284

JO - International Journal of Biological Macromolecules

JF - International Journal of Biological Macromolecules

M1 - 138042

ER -

Understanding the correlation between source and chiral, physichochemical properties of chitin nanocrystals; insights from beetle (Cetonia aurata) skeletal segments

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