Complexation of oligochitosan with sodium caseinate in alkalescent and weakly acidic media

Сomplexation of oligochitosan (OCHI) having the degree of acetylation (DA 26 %) with sodium caseinate (SC) at pH 5.8 and 7.2 is described and compared with the complexation of OCHI (DA 2 %) at pH 5.8. In the alkalescent medium, the complexation of OCHI (DA 26 %) is weaker and dualistic depending on SC concentration in the system. In the diluted alkalescent system, the formation of only soluble complexes is observed at OCHI/SC ratio ≤0.9. In the semi diluted one, the complexation results in the formation of insoluble complexes those composition changes symbatically with the OCHI/SC ratio in the system. At pH 5.8, OCHI/SC ratio in insoluble complexes remains the same regardless of OCHI/SC ratio in the solution. At pH 5.8, the electrostatic complexation weakens with an increase in DA and is completely suppressed at a high ionic strength. These results can be promising for construction of biodegradable protein/chitosan drug delivery systems.