Microstructure and properties of thermomechanically processed chitosan citrate-based materials

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomaterials Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Traditional solvent casting for chitosan materials has low productivity.
• Thermomechanical processing offers a potential alternative for increased production.
• Citric acid (CA) is investigated for its role in chitosan processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate thermomechanical processing for enhanced chitosan production.
• To examine the function of citric acid (CA) as a destructuring and crosslinking agent.
• To characterize the resulting chitosan-based materials for biomedical suitability.

Main Methods:

• Thermomechanical processing of chitosan with citric acid (CA).
• Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for microstructural analysis.
• Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) for chemical and structural characterization.

Main Results:

• Thermomechanical processing with CA produced robust chitosan fibers with 145% superior mechanical strength.
• SEM revealed a novel microstructure in these chitosan-based materials.
• FTIR and XRD confirmed chemical crosslinking and successful destructuring of chitosan by CA.
• Materials exhibited homogeneous morphology and good physicochemical properties.

Conclusions:

• Thermomechanical processing with CA is an effective method for producing high-strength chitosan materials.
• This technique offers a significant improvement over traditional solvent casting in terms of productivity and material properties.
• The resulting chitosan-based materials are suitable for various biomedical applications.