Feás Sánchez, XesúsVázquez Tato, María del PilarSeijas Vázquez, Julio AntonioNikalje, Anna Pratima G.Fraga López, Francisco2020-11-022020-11-022020Feás, X.; Vázquez-Tato, M.P.; Seijas, J.A.; Pratima G. Nikalje, A.; Fraga-López, F. Extraction and Physicochemical Characterization of Chitin Derived from the Asian Hornet, Vespa velutina Lepeletier 1836 (Hym.: Vespidae). Molecules 2020, 25, 384http://hdl.handle.net/10347/23523Fifteen years ago, at least one multimated female yellow-legged Asian hornet (Vespa velutina Lepeletier 1836) arrived in France, which gave rise to a pan-European invasion. In this study, the isolation and characterization of chitin (CHI) that was obtained from Vespa velutina (CHIVV) is described. In addition, an easy procedure is carried out to capture the raw insect, selectively and with high rates of success. The chitin contents of dry VV was observed to be 11.7%. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), solid-state NMR (ssNMR), elemental analysis (EA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TG) characterized the physicochemical properties of CHIVV. The obtained CHIVV is close to pure (43.47% C, 6.94% H, and 6.85% N), and full acetylated with a value of 95.44%. Additionally, lifetime and kinetic parameters such as activation E and the frequency factor A using model-free and model-fitting methods, were determined. For CHIVV the solid state mechanism that follows the thermodegradation is of type F2 (random nucleation around two nuclei). The invasive Asian hornet is a promising alternative source of CHI, based on certain factors, such as the current and probable continued abundance of the quantity and quality of the product obtainedeng© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Atribución 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ChitinVespa velutinaAsian hornetPolymerInvasive speciesInsectsjournal article10.3390/molecules250203841420-3049open access