Cellulose-chitosan composite mechanical property

PVA-C composites are prepared by the additimi of fillers into the PVA solution before the freeze-thaw process. The main purposes of filler addition are for improving mechanical properties and for controlled release and delivery. A wide variety of filler materials that vary in dimensimis from micro- to nanometers have been reported, but here we focus on two widely studied filler materials for their relevance in biomedical applications bacterial cellulose and chitosan. 

C5 ras VP, Manfredi LB, Ton-That M-T, Vazquez A (2008) Physical and mechanical properties of thermoplastic starch/montmorillonite nanocomposite films. Carbohydr Polym 73 55-63 de Morals Teixeira E, Correa A, Manzoli A, de Lima Leite F, de Oliveira C, Mattoso L (2010) Cellulose nanofibers from white and naturally colored cotton fibers. Cellulose 17 595-606 de Moura MR, Aouada FA, Avena-Bustillos RJ, McHugh TH, Krochta JM, Mattoso LHC (2009) Improved barrier and mechanical properties of novel hydrox5q)ropyl methylcellulose edible films with chitosan/tripolyphosphate nanoparticles. J Food Eng 92 448—453 Dean K, Yu L, Wu DY (2007) Preparation and characterization of melt-extruded thermoplastic starch/clay nanocomposites. Compos Sci Technol 67 413 21 Duanmu J, Gamstedt EK, Rosling A (2007) Hygromechanical properties of composites of crosslinked allylglycidyl-ether modified starch reinforced by wood fibres. Compos Sci Technol 67 3090-3097... 

Wang Z, Zhou J, Wang X, Zhang N, Sun X, Ma Z (2014) The effects of ultrasonic/microwave assisted treatment on the water vapor barrier properties of soybean protein isolate-based oleic acid/stearic acid blend edible films. Food Hydrocolloids 35 51-58 Wihodo M, Moraru Cl (2013) Physical and chemical methods used to enhance the structure and mechanical properties of protein films a review. J Food Eng 114(3) 292-302 Woehl MA, Canestraro CD, Mikowski A, Sierakowski MR (2010) Bionanocomposites of thermoplastic starch reinforced with bacterial cellulose nanofibers effect of enzymatic treatment on mechanical properties. Carbohydr Polym 80 866-873 Xu YX, Kim KM, Hanna MA, Nag D (2005) Chitosan-starch composite film preparation and characterization. Ind Crops Prod 21 185-192... 

Biopolymers have also been used to wrap CNTs in efforts to functionalize them for aqueous dispersion. Chitosan, poly(L-lactide) [93], and cellulose [94] are some of the polymers that are commonly employed. Chitosan in particular has been the subject of considerable research because of the ease with which it is functionalized. For instance, enzyme attachment has been used to produce robust chemical sensors for glucose [95,96]. Layered arrangement of chitosan/CNT composite produced a low-power requirement electrochemical actuator with superior mechanical properties and repeatability [97]. 

Recently, Lin et al. [73] successfully produced microbial cellulose and microbial cellulose/chitosan membranes in large scale. The composite was prepared by immersing microbial cellulose in chitosan solution followed by freeze-drying. The incorporation of chitosan in microbial cellulose (i.e., microbial cellulose/chitosan) led to a more compact fibril network with smaller pore size than microbial cellulose. The swelling behavior, water retention capacity, moisture content, permeability and mechanical properties... 

---