Tweaking the mechanical and structural properties of colloidal chitosans by sonication

Abstract

Compared to the oil-derived plastics typically used in food packaging, biofilms of pure chitosan present serious moisture issues. The physical degradation of the polysaccharide with ultrasound effectively reduces the water vapor permeability in these films but, unfortunately, they also turn more brittle. Blending chitosans of different morphology and molecular mass (M) is an unexplored strategy that could bring balance without the need of incorporating toxic or non-biodegradable plasticizers. To this end, we prepared and characterized the mixtures of a high-M chitosan with the products of its own ultrasonic fragmentation. Biopolymer degradation was followed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and the mechanical and structural characteristics of the mixtures were evaluated from different rheological methods and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results indicate that, through the control of the sonication time and mixture ratio, it is possible to adjust the viscoelasticity and morphological aspect of the mixtures at intermediate levels relative to their individual components. In a more general sense, it is emphasized the importance of design and materials processing for the development of a novel generation of additive-free sustainable but functional bioplastics.