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Molecular Building Blocks of Structural Color

To recreate nature’s vibrant structural colors, we investigate the lipids and proteins responsible for coloration in butterfly wings—paving the way for sustainable colorants in food and cosmetics.

In insects structural color forms in specialized cells (epithelial cells) which contain lipids and proteins among many other components. To biomimetically fabricate structural color, it is essential to know which components are crucial for structural color formation, which has been barely explored. Therefore, in this project we use lipidomics and proteomics to analyze the molecular composition in pigmented and structural colored anatomical regions of butterflies. We obtain the butterflies from the Papiliorama in Kerzers, which belong to the International Association of Butterfly Exhibitors and Suppliers (IABES) and rear them in an atmosphere controlled terrarium. Lipids and proteins are analyzed at the Metabolomics and Proteomics Unit of the Biology Department of the University of Fribourg. This project ultimately aims to apply these findings to environmentally friendly coloration in foods and cosmetics.

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