Polysaccharide-based polymer blends: Methods of their production

Abstract

The existing methods of preparing polymer blends of cellulose, chitin and chitosan with natural and synthetic polymers and their applications are reviewed. The methods of solid-phase blending of these polymers under conditions of joint action of high pressure and shear deformation are discussed. Normally, under these conditions the processes of dispersion of polymer particles, amorphization, mixing at different levels, depolymerization as well as a chemical interaction resulting in formation of branched and crosslinked structures can take place. The probability and intensity of these processes depend in many respects on the type and magnitude of the external force, but the properties of the polymers are of higher importance. The advantages of the method of joint action of high pressure and shear deformation compared to the conventional techniques of polysaccharides mixtures production are shown.

Development and characterization of chitosan and phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) based composites

“…These materials are interesting ion exchangers and complexing agents, dressings, shells for encapsulating drugs, sutures, etc. The physiochemical and mechanical properties of such blends are determined by the type of bonds between the components, their compatibity and the features of forming supermolecular structure [1]. Chitosan (poly--(1-4)-2-amino-2 deoxy-D-glucopyrenose) is a relatively non-toxic and completely biocompatible cationic polysaccharide produced by partial deacetylation of chitin derived from naturally occurring crustacean shells.…”

Designing polymeric microparticles for biomedical and industrial applications

“…On the other hand, natural polymers have good biocompatibility but their mechanical properties are often inadequate [71][72][73]. For chitosan, among the several blends with synthetic polymers described [74], we have been focused on the blending with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA).…”

Natural Polymers as Components of Blends for Biomedical Applications

“…Several methods have been employed to assess the interactions between two components in the blend and then miscibility of two polymers [5][6][7][8]12,13,39,103,107]. In several laboratories, viscosity measurements have been employed to study the miscibility of two components.…”