Estudio de las características químicas del quitosano extraído de las especies de avispas Polistes versicolor y Polybia occidentalis.

Abstract

In this work, chitin and chitosan were obtained from two species of wasps, Polistes versicolor and Polybia occidentalis. To know the raw material, FTIR analysis was carried out on the different external parts of the wasps, finding that the structure of the chitin of the thorax is different from the other parts and in both species of wasps. The most appropriate parameters were established in the different processes that involve obtaining chitosan, such as chitin dehydration, deproteinization, demineralization, and deacetylation. At the end of each stage (mentioned above) the samples were analyzed by FTIR - ATR, thermal analysis, and SEM. The results allowed establishing the optimum drying temperature, the percentage of moisture loss, the percentage of protein loss, the optimal concentration of NaOH, the superficial morphology of the biopolymer and the presence of two thermal events and two mass losses, due to the water evaporation and degradation. The degree of acetylation and deacetylation was also determined by the ratio of A1320/1420.