Preparation of Swellable and Highly Operable Composite Films Made of Polysaccharides and Supporting Substrates

Composite films consisting of polysaccharide films, made of polyion complex of chondroitin sulfate C and chitosan, and supporting materials, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheets and silk mesh, were prepared by utilizing hot press techniques. Both composite films with PET sheet and silk mesh maintained their self-supporting properties even after immersion in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and their polysaccharide parts showed similar swelling behavior to original polysaccharide films. The PET sheets of the PET-supported films were detachable after adhering their polysaccharide parts to other substrates. In the silk mesh-supported films, methylene blue used as a model drug was loaded and released from the polysaccharide part of the film.