Preparation and characterization of cross-linked chitosan/cellulose bionanohybrids

Abstract

Bionanohybrids have been extensively studied as the cornerstone of novel materials for manifold applications. This research aims to fabricate layer-by-layer bionanohybrids of chitosan nanoparticles cross-linked natural cellulose using sodium tripolyphosphate cross-linker (Ch-TPP-C) and ionic gelation method. Chitosan coating enhanced the multi-functionality of natural cellulose obtained from rice straw waste. In turn, the functional groups of the cellulose matrix offer exogenous groups for chitosan as a coating agent. The image of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of Ch-TPP-C showed that the spherical-like chitosan nanoparticles covered the entangled cellulose well. The hydrodynamic size of 128.50 and 205.73 nm was found for chitosan nanoparticles and Ch-TPP-C, respectively. The hydrodynamic size of the samples slightly increased after one month of storage. The results from X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectra showed the formation of Ch-TPP-C with multifunctional properties. Therefore, the incorporation of dual polysaccharides of natural cellulose matrix and chitosan coater was successful to synthesize the low-cost bionanohybrids potentially for anticancer drug delivery applications.