Uniform chitosan hollow microspheres prepared with the sulfonated polystyrene particles templates

Biodegradable chitosan hollow microspheres have been fabricated by employing uniform sulfonated polystyrene (PS) particles as templates. The chitosan was adsorbed onto the surface of the sulfonated polystyrene templates through the electrostatic interaction between the sulfonic acid groups on the templates and the amino groups on the chitosan. Subsequently, the adsorbed chitosan was crosslinked by adding glutaraldehyde. After the removal of the sulfonated polystyrene core, chitosan hollow microspheres were obtained. The longer the sulfonation time used, the smaller the size of the hollow particles and the thicker the chitosan wall obtained. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry was used to characterize the component of the microspheres. The morphologies of the PS templates and the chitosan microspheres were observed by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The controlled release behavior of the chitosan hollow microspheres was also primarily investigated.