Elaboration of chitosan nanoparticles: Favorable impact of a mild thermal treatment to obtain finely divided, spherical, and colloidally stable objects

- Chitosan nanoparticles were synthesized by an ionic gelation method.
- The main physicochemical parameters involved in the synthesis were studied.
- Aggregates were successfully reduced by a heat treatment of the colloidal suspension.
- Nanoparticle sphericity was drastically increased through a mild heating.
- Optimized nanoparticles were stable at least 135 days at 20 °C (pH 4.5).