Structural, Mechanical, and Transport Properties of Electron Beam-Irradiated Chitosan Membranes at Different Doses

Chitosan powder irradiated by electron beam at different doses, up to 250 kGy, was used to prepare membranes for drug release applications. The irradiation effect on the molecular weight of powder chitosan, the characteristics of the prepared membranes, and their transport of sulfamerazine sodium salt (SULF) were investigated. The effect of the addition of glutaraldehyde (GLA) as a crosslinking agent in the chitosan solution used for the preparation of the membranes was also studied. A decrease in the chitosan molecular weight with the increase in the irradiation dose was observed, while the membranes prepared with the irradiated chitosan at higher dose exhibited lower swelling. However, an opposite behavior was detected when the membranes were prepared with GLA-crosslinked chitosan. A GLA crosslinking agent reduced the crystallinity of the chitosan membranes and the swelling, whereas the water contact angle and SULF transport increased with the increase in the irradiation dose.