Chitin nanofibrils (ChNF) are interesting high-value constituents for nanomaterials due to the
enormous amount of waste from the seafood industry. So far, the reported ChNFs are
substantially modified and chemically degraded (shortened) during extraction from the
organisms. Here, highly individualized and long native-state β-chitin nanofibrils from Illex
argentinus squid pens are prepared. A mild treatment was developed to preserve the molar
mass, aspect ratio, degree of acetylation and crystallite structure. The fibrils show a uniform …

The α-chitin nanofibril is an alternative to nanocellulose as a building-block for strong films
and other nanomaterials. The hypothesis of high film strength for films based on mildly
treated insect cuticles was tested. Fibrils from the cuticle of Ruspolia differens (a long-
horned bush cricket grasshopper locally known as senene) are disintegrated by a mild
process, subsequently characterized by transmission electron microscopy, NMR, Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy, and XRD, and used to prepare strong and transparent films …