Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Preparation and characterization of O-carboxymethyl chitosan–sodium alginate polyelectrolyte complexes

  • Original Contribution
  • Published:
Colloid and Polymer Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

O-carboxymethyl chitosan (O-CMC) is a water-soluble derivative of chitosan. In this work, the formation of polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) between O-CMC and sodium alginate (SAL) was explored by investigating the effects of medium pH, polyelectrolytes mixing ratio, and ionic strength on the yield of O-CMC–SAL PECs. Meanwhile, the rheological, thermal, and microstructural properties of the PECs prepared at various medium acidities were characterized as well. The results indicated that the strongest complexation between O-CMC and SAL occurred in medium pH 6.5 and biopolymer ratio (R O-CMC/SAL) 1.5:1 (w/w) in the absence of added NaCl. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis revealed that both electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding were involved in PEC formation. The PECs possessed the porous structure and displayed predominately the elastic property with the highest moduli values being recorded at medium pH 3.5. It was concluded that the O-CMC–SAL PECs have potential biomedical applications due to the nearly neutral complexation pH and the porous structure for drug inclusion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Luo Y, Wang Q (2014) Recent development of chitosan-based polyelectrolyte complexes with natural polysaccharides for drug delivery. Int J Biol Macromol 64C:353–367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Cui L, Jia JF, Xiong ZH, Zhang CJ, Ye ZT, Zhu P (2014) Preparation and properties of carboxymethyl chitosan and sodium alginate semi-interpenetrating hydrogels. Acta Polym Sin 0:361–368

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Meng X, Tian F, Yang J, He CN, Xing N, Li F (2010) Chitosan and alginate polyelectrolyte complex membranes and their properties for wound dressing application. J Mater Sci-Mater Med 21:1751–1759

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Dai YN, Li P, Zhang JP, Wang AQ, Wei Q (2008) A novel pH sensitive N-succinyl chitosan/alginate hydrogel bead for nifedipine delivery. Biopharm Drug Dispos 29:173–184

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Motwani SK, Chopra S, Talegaonkar S, Kohli K, Ahmad FJ, Khar RK (2008) Chitosan–sodium alginate nanoparticles as submicroscopic reservoirs for ocular delivery: formulation, optimisation and in vitro characterisation. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 68:513–525

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Chen SC, Wu YC, Mi FL, Lin YH, Yu LC, Sung HW (2004) A novel pH-sensitive hydrogel composed of N, O-carboxymethyl chitosan and alginate cross-linked by genipin for protein drug delivery. J Control Release 96:285–300

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Lucinda SRM, Salgado HRN, Evangelista RC (2010) Alginate-chitosan systems: in vitro controlled release of triamcinolone and in vivo gastrointestinal transit. Carbohydr Polym 81:260–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Mi FL, Liang HF, Wu YC, Lin YS, Yang TF, Sung HW (2005) pH-sensitive behavior of two-component hydrogels composed of N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan and alginate. J Biomater Sci Polym Ed 16:1333–1345

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Jayakumar R, Prabaharan M, Nair SV, Tokura S, Tamura H, Selvamurugan N (2010) Novel carboxymethyl derivatives of chitin and chitosan materials and their biomedical applications. Prog Mater Sci 55:675–709

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Douglas KL, Tabrizian M (2005) Effect of experimental parameters on the formation of alginate-chitosan nanoparticles and evaluation of their potential application as DNA carrier. J Biomater Sci Polym Ed 16:43–56

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Takahashi T, Takayama K, Machida Y, Nagai T (1990) Characteristics of polyion complexes of chitosan with sodium alginate and sodium polyacrylate. Int J Pharm 61:35–41

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Sæther HV, Holme HK, Maurstad G, Smidsrød O, Stokke BT (2008) Polyelectrolyte complex formation using alginate and chitosan. Carbohydr Polym 74:813–821

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Florczyk SJ, Kim DJ, Wood DL, Zhang M (2011) Influence of processing parameters on pore structure of 3D porous chitosan–alginate polyelectrolyte complex scaffolds. J Biomed Mater Res A 98A:614–620

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Huang GQ, Xiao JX, Jia L, Yang J (2014) Complex coacervation of O-carboxymethylated chitosan and gum arabic. Intern J Polym Mater. doi:10.1080/00914037.2014.936591

    Google Scholar 

  15. Ge HC, Luo DK (2005) Preparation of carboxymethyl chitosan in aqueous solution under microwave irradiation. Carbohydr Res 340:1351–1356

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Berger J, Reist M, Mayer JM, Felt O, Peppas NA, Gurny R (2004) Structure and interactions in covalently and ionically crosslinked chitosan hydrogels for biomedical applications. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 57:19–34

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Feng C, Wang Z, Jiang C, Kong M, Zhou X, Li Y, Cheng X, Chen X (2013) Chitosan/o-carboxymethyl chitosan nanoparticles for efficient and safe oral anticancer drug delivery: in vitro and in vivo evaluation. Int J Pharm 457:158–167

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Liu S, Cao YL, Ghosh S, Rousseau D, Low NH, Nickerson MT (2010) Intermolecular interactions during complex coacervation of pea protein isolate and gum arabic. J Agric Food Chem 58:552–556

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Ye A (2008) Complexation between milk proteins and polysaccharides via electrostatic interaction: principles and applications a review. Int J Food Sci Technol 43:406–415

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Espinosa-Andrews H, Sandoval-Castilla O, Vázquez-Torres H, Vernon-Carter EJ, Lobato-Calleros C (2010) Determination of the gum Arabic-chitosan interactions by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and characterization of the microstructure and rheological features of their coacervates. Carbohydr Polym 79:541–546

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Fan L, Du Y, Zhang B, Yang J, Zhou J, Kennedy JF (2006) Preparation and properties of alginate/carboxymethyl chitosan blend fibers. Carbohydr Polym 65:447–452

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Shon SO, Ji BC, Han YA, Park DJ, Kim IS, Choi JH (2007) Viscoelastic sol–gel state of the chitosan and alginate solution mixture. J Appl Polym Sci 104:1408–1414

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Weinbreck F, Wientjes RHW, Nieuwenhuijse H, Robijn GW, de Kruif CG (2004) Rheological properties of whey protein/gum arabic coacervates. J Rheol 48:1215–1228

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Ru Q, Wang Y, Lee J, Ding Y, Huang Q (2012) Turbidity and rheological properties of bovine serum albumin/pectin coacervates: effect of salt concentration and initial protein/polysaccharide ratio. Carbohydr Polym 88:838–846

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Espinosa-Andrews H, Baez-Gonzalez JG, Cruz-Sosa F, Vernon-Carter EJ (2007) Gum arabic-chitosan complex coacervation. Biomacromolecules 8:1313–1318

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Kittur FS, Harish-Prashanth KV, Udaya-Sankar K, Tharanathan RN (2002) Characterization of chitin, chitosan and their carboxymethyl derivatives by differential scanning calorimetry. Carbohydr Polym 49:185–193

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Honary S, Maleki M, Karami M (2009) The effect of chitosan molecular weight on the properties of alginate/chitosan microparticles containing prednisolone. Trop J Pharm Res 8:53–61

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Tığlı RS, Gümüşderelioğlu M (2009) Evaluation of alginate-chitosan semi IPNs as cartilage scaffolds. J Mater Sci-Mater M 20:699–709

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Chen L, Remondetto GE, Subirad M (2006) Food protein-based materials as nutraceutical delivery systems. Trends Food Sci Technol 17:272–283

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

We thank the financial support from the National Science Foundation of China (31101391), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2010CQ032), and the Shenzhen Key Fundamental Project Program (JC201105201225A).

Conflict of interest

We declare that we do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Food Science and Engineering, Qingdao Agricultural University, Chengyang District, Qingdao, 266109, China

    Guo-Qing Huang, Ling-Yun Cheng, Jun-Xia Xiao & Xiao-Na Han

Authors
  1. Guo-Qing Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ling-Yun Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jun-Xia Xiao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xiao-Na Han
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jun-Xia Xiao.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Huang, GQ., Cheng, LY., Xiao, JX. et al. Preparation and characterization of O-carboxymethyl chitosan–sodium alginate polyelectrolyte complexes. Colloid Polym Sci 293, 401–407 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-014-3432-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-014-3432-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation