Effects of chitosan solution concentration and incorporation of chitin and glycerol on dense chitosan membrane properties

The aim of this work was to perform a systematic study about the effects induced by chitosan solution concentration and by chitin or glycerol incorporation on dense chitosan membranes with potential use as burn dressings. The membrane properties analyzed were total raw material cost, thickness, morphology, swelling ratio, tensile strength, percentage of strain at break, crystallinity, in vitro enzymatic degradation with lysozyme, and in vitro Vero cells adhesion. While the use of the most concentrated chitosan solution (2.5% w/w) increased membrane cost, it also improved the biomaterial mechanical resistance and ductility, as well as reduced membrane degradation when exposed for 2 months to llysozyme. The remaining evaluated properties were not affected by initial chitosan solution concentration. Chitin incorporation, on the other hand, reduced the membranes cost, swelling ratio, mechanical properties, and crystallinity, resulting in thicker biomaterials with irregular surface more easily degradable when exposed to lysozyme. Glycerol incorporation also reduced the membranes cost and crystallinity and increased membranes degradability after exposure to lysozyme. Strong Vero cells adhesion was not observed in any of the tested membrane formulations. The overall results indicate that the majority of the prepared membranes meet the performance requirements of temporary nonbiodegradable burn dressings (e.g. adequate values of mechanical resistance and ductility, low values of in vitro cellular adhesion on their surfaces, low extent of degradation when exposed to lysozyme solution, and high stability in aqueous solutions). (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.