Fabrication of ethyl cellulose microspheres: Chitosan solution as a stabilizer

Abstract

Ethyl cellulose was dissolved in ternary mixture, which consisted of 10 ml dichloroethane, 20 ml methanol and 10 ml acetone. Then, the ethyl cellulose microspheres were shaped in 1–6% chitosan solution and at 40 °C, 70 °C and 100 °, respectively. The characteristics of these ethyl cellulose microspheres were also investigated based on the characterization of XRD, SEM, IR and DSC. The results showed that the most suitable conditions for ethyl cellulose microsphere preparation were in 6% chitosan solution and at 70 °C, in which the ethyl cellulose microsphere prepared were small and uniform. Moreover, from the XRD, IR and DSC data, the crystallization of ethyl cellulose microspheres decreased with the increase of the temperature; on the other hand, there some interactions happened between ethyl cellulose and chitosan, which shows a strong evidence for the intermolecular interactions and good molecular compatibility between ethyl cellulose and chitosan.