Preparation of Nanochitin from Crickets and Comparison with That from Crab Shells

The study explored crickets as a new source of chitin, successfully converting it to nanochitin through pulverization. Chitin was extracted from cricket powder with a 2.6% yield and confirmed to have an α-type crystal structure and a 12% deacetylation degree. The resulting cricket nanochitin had a whisker shape with an average fiber width of 10.1 nm, larger than that from crab shells, but with smaller hydrodynamic diameter and crystal size. These differences influenced the physical properties, resulting in higher transmittance and lower viscosity compared to crab nanochitin. Additionally, dry non-woven cricket nanochitin sheets were more densely packed, with greater modulus and breaking strength.