Novel glucosamine hydrochloride-rectorite nanocomposites with antioxidant and anti-ultraviolet activity

In this study, an attempt was made to prepare novel D-glucosamine hydrochloride-rectorite (DGH-REC) nanocomposites with improved antioxidant and anti-ultraviolet activity via the solution-intercalation method. The structure and morphology of DGH-REC nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, TEM, (13)C CP/MAS NMR, FT-IR, XPS and SEM. The results showed that the interlayer distance of REC was enlarged after intercalation of DGH; the largest value reached 11.76 nm, and in this case exfoliation of the REC layer was observed. Moreover, most strong crystals of DGH were greatly disrupted while two other weak crystals of DGH were stronger after intercalation of DGH into REC. More importantly, it was found that DGH-REC nanocomposites showed pronounced antioxidant activity, in contrast with DGH, and the nanocomposites had anti-ultraviolet capacity, which was not observed in DGH. Furthermore, the nanocomposites did not show apparent cytotoxicity. Therefore, DGH-REC nanocomposites have great potential in health or functional food application as compared to DGH.