Physicochemical, mechanical and thermal properties of chitosan films with and without sorbitol

The effect of sorbitol on the physicochemical, mechanical and thermal properties of chitosan films with different degrees of deacetylation (DD; i.e., DD85% and DD95%) was investigated. The thickness, moisture content (MC), water solubility (WS) and water-vapor permeability (WVP) of the films were evaluated. Sorbitol addition reduced MC, increased WS and significantly (p<0.01) reduced WVP of both film types. DD95% films had lower MC and WVP, and higher WS than DD85% films. Static (thermomechanical analysis) and dynamic (dynamic mechanical analysis) tests indicated that sorbitol increased the strain and decreased stress for both DD films, but DD95% could sustain higher strain and DD85% could sustain higher stress. Thermogravimetrics analysis and differential scanning calorimetry showed that sorbitol elicited a lower degradation temperature for both films, and that DD95% films exhibited higher thermal stability than DD85% films.