Design and characterization of chitosan-based composite particles with tunable interfacial properties

Composite nano-microparticles were prepared in aqueous solution that contain chitosan or modified (carboxymethyl) chitosan with polyanion species such as alginate or tripolyphosphate, respectively. Several types of particles were prepared and characterized by 1H/31P NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, and DLS. According to DLS, the particle size was observed to increase as the concentration of the aqueous urea solution increased. The average size and polydispersity index (in parentheses) vary and are reported for the chitosan-based particles from 243.0 ± 1 nm (0.28) to 424 ± 14 nm (0.33), according to DLS measurements at ambient conditions. Thus, the particles are herein referred to as nano-microparticles (NMPs) due to the relative size range. The stability of the NMPs is related to the particle composition and the aqueous solution conditions, as evidenced by variable NMP stability on the order of two weeks or more at different ionic strength.