Production of natural chitin film from pupal shell of moth: Fabrication of plasmonic surfaces for SERS-based sensing applications

Commercially available types of chitin or chitin isolate are usually in powder form and are nanofibrous in microstructure. However, the surface characteristics of natural chitin in the body of insects are currently understudied. Herein, natural chitin film was successfully produced from bio-waste of insect pupae of the Japanese giant silkworm. Two different surface morphologies of the chitin film were observed. We report for the first time a micropapillary surface structure of chitin which was observed on the dorsal side of the film. To further potential of the micropapillary structured natural chitin in sensing applications, we develop a protocol for generating a nanoscopic film of Ag using thermal evaporation. The Ag-deposited natural chitin films exhibited surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity to an extent depending on the structure of the film. In conclusion, materials science has been expanded by addition of a natural, three-dimensional chitin film with utilizable properties.

Automated summary

A natural chitin film was successfully produced from insect pupae bio-waste of the Japanese giant silkworm, showing a micropapillary surface structure. By depositing silver to create a nanoscopic film, the natural chitin film exhibited surface-enhanced Raman scattering activity depending on its structure. This study has expanded materials science by introducing a utilizable natural chitin film with unique properties.