SUPERVISOR: Antje POTTHAST

PROJECT ASSIGNED TO: Piyawan YIMLAMAI

The emerging field of insect farming, particularly using black soldier flies (BSF), Hermetia illucens, represents a sustainable shift away from traditional livestock practices. Among the valuable by-products of BSF farming are the exoskeletons, which are abundant in chitin and offer substantial opportunities for value addition. A pivotal challenge in harnessing chitin's full potential is overcoming the strong interactions between chitin and proteins. This study is driven by a dual objective: firstly, to elucidate the intricate role proteins play in modulating chitin's properties, and secondly, to leverage this understanding to engineer nanochitin-protein composites. Our research centers on developing sustainable extraction techniques from BSF exoskeletons to retain beneficial protein-chitin interactions. In addition, sophisticated tools for analyzing chitin/protein mixtures will be developed. Ultimately, our work seeks to create advanced materials from nanochitin-protein hybrids that exhibit synergistic properties, marking a significant advancement in the sustainable exploitation of insect-derived resources.