Nanostructure of polysaccharide complexes

► Gum arabic-chitosan nanostructures. ► Chitosan degree of acetylation (DA) determines the structure of the complexes. ► Gum arabic and chitosan with high charge density (DA 5%) form nanoparticles of 200 nm. ► Using chitosan with higher DA (25%), soluble complexes are obtained. ► Soluble complexes are flat when adsorbed on mica surfaces (height ⩽ 10 nm).