Study on the relationship between crosslinking degree and properties of TPP crosslinked chitosan nanoparticles.

In order to reveal the relationship between the degree of crosslinking and the properties of chitosan nanoparticles, a potassium polyvinyl sulfate (PVSK) titration method was established for the determination of free amino group in chitosan, which showed that there was a window effect in the crosslinking degree and particle size of three kinds of molecular weight chitosan cross-linked by different content of tripolyphosphate (TPP), and the nanoparticles with moderate crosslinking degree were smaller. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) showed the moderate degree of cross-linking nanoparticles had strong antibacterial properties. IR analysis showed that the interaction between chitosan nanoparticles with different crosslinking degree and TPP were different. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the cross-linked chitosan nanoparticles were amorphous. Above all, the crosslinking degree of TPP cross-linked chitosan nanoparticles was related to the particle size and antibacterial properties.

Antimicrobial activity of Fe-loaded chitosan nanoparticles.

To increase the antimicrobial activities of chitosan, chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Fe2+ or Fe3+ were prepared by surfactant-assisted chitosan chelating Fe2+, Fe3+ and ionic gelation chitosan. Their chelating rates were determined by spectrophotometry. The particle sizes and zeta potentials of chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Fe2+ or Fe3+ were measured by size and zeta potential analysis. The nanoparticles antimicrobial activities were evaluated by different concentration against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans in vitro. Results showed that the mean diameter of chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Fe2+ or Fe3+ were 206.4 and 195.2 nm, respectively. Their zeta potentials were +28.82 and +28.26 mV, respectively. The chelating rate of chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Fe2+ was greatly higher than with Fe3+. Their antimicrobial activity was showed greatly higher at lower concentrations compared to chitosan, and the antibacterial effect of chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Fe2+ or Fe3+ was preliminary observed.