Tough
gels and foams (CHTAUR) based on chitosan were
prepared by the hydrothermal reaction of a mixture of chitosan (CH), tartaric acid (TA), and urea (UR). The structure of purified CHTAUR in the solid state
was analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, cross-polarization
magic angle spinning 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy,
powder X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. CHTAUR is observed to be predominantly chitosan although a minor extent
of TAUR salt is present as physical cross-links. The
morphology of CHTAUR, as assessed by SEM, suggests the
formation of macroporous structures with pore sizes in the range of
90 μm to 1.5 mm. X-ray CT analysis, on the other hand, suggests
that the as-prepared CHTAUR foam exhibited open pores
of cellular structures with a porosity of around 75% and the average
pore size could be in the range of hundreds of μm to few mm.
Under conditions of excess water usage, the foams turn into tough
gels through water absorption. The suitability of CHTAUR for different applications was examined. Tough gels formed by using
a higher extent of water were found to be suitable for compressive
loading. The water absorption of the foam was around 25 g/g. A compressive
strength study of foams enabled the estimation of the Young’s
moduli of CHTAUR foams to be 44.28, 43.80, and 9.96 kPa
for foams prepared with CH/H2O weight ratios
of 1:5, 1:6, and 1:7.5, respectively. Cytotoxicity studies carried
out using the NIH-3T3 cell line showed that CHTAUR, after
purification through solvent extraction, supported cell growth and
was not toxic to the cell growth, a feature that is also shown by CH. CHTAUR, consisting predominantly of CH, could find use as a biodegradable packaging material and
also as a scaffold for tissue engineering applications.