| People | Locations | Statistics |
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| Naji, M. |
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| Motta, Antonella |
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| Aletan, Dirar |
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| Mohamed, Tarek |
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| Ertürk, Emre |
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| Taccardi, Nicola |
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| Kononenko, Denys |
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| Petrov, R. H. | Madrid |
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| Alshaaer, Mazen | Brussels |
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| Bih, L. |
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| Casati, R. |
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| Muller, Hermance |
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| Kočí, Jan | Prague |
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| Šuljagić, Marija |
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| Kalteremidou, Kalliopi-Artemi | Brussels |
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| Azam, Siraj |
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| Ospanova, Alyiya |
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| Blanpain, Bart |
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| Ali, M. A. |
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| Popa, V. |
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| Rančić, M. |
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| Ollier, Nadège |
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| Azevedo, Nuno Monteiro |
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| Landes, Michael |
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| Rignanese, Gian-Marco |
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Sousa, Amm
in Cooperation with on an Cooperation-Score of 37%
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Publications (5/5 displayed)
- 2015Alternative plasticizers for the production of thermo-compressed agar filmscitations
- 2015Electrospinning of agar/PVA aqueous solutions and its relation with rheological propertiescitations
- 2015Improving agar electrospinnability with choline-based deep eutectic solventscitations
- 2014Choline chloride based ionic liquid analogues as tool for the fabrication of agar films with improved mechanical propertiescitations
- 2013Ultrasound-assisted preparation of size-controlled chitosan nanoparticles: Characterization and fabrication of transparent biofilmscitations
Places of action
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article
Ultrasound-assisted preparation of size-controlled chitosan nanoparticles: Characterization and fabrication of transparent biofilms
Abstract
The use of biodegradable natural polymers is a suitable alternative for the preparation of more environmentally-friendly plastics and biocompatible nanoparticulated systems. Chitosan is an abundant and inexpensive candidate. However, its transparent films present poor mechanical response and high sensitivity to moisture. Moreover, the findings made by different researchers on the effects of molecular mass and degree of deacetylation (DD) on these properties are still controversial. This paper aims to unveil the separate effects of these parameters on biofilm properties. For these purposes, two aqueous solutions of chitosan (DD = 90 and 95%) were submitted to controlled fragmentation by ultrasonication. The resulting solutions were characterized by rheological techniques and the nanoparticles formed were studied ex-situ by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Irrespective of DD, the application of longer sonication times reduced the viscoelasticity of the solutions and yielded nanoparticles with lower size (and molecular mass). The mechanical strength and stiffness of transparent biofilms fabricated from these solutions, without plasticizers, were determined in stress tests. Sensitivity to moisture was also evaluated through water vapor permeability measurements and water sorption isothermal data. The results showed a significant decrease in the permeability with decreasing the molecular mass. However, the mechanical properties were adversely affected. These findings may be useful for the future design of bioplastics with improved properties but also for the development of biocompatible nanoparticles with tunable size and molecular mass.