State of water in noncrosslinked and crosslinked hydrogel chitosan membranes – dsc studies

Modified chitosan hydrogel membranes were prepared using glutaraldehyde (GA) and sodium citrate (NaCIT) as crosslinking agents. Molecular and supermolecular structure analyses of unmodified and modified chitosan membranes have been conducted by FTIR and X-ray spectroscopy. FTIR results showed covalent and ionic crosslinks formation between chitosan (Ch) and GA or simultaneously Ch, GA and NaCIT. The state of water in noncrosslinked and crosslinked chitosan membranes were analysed by differential scanning spectroscopy (DSC). Three types of water in hydrogel membranes were found: non-freezing bound water, freezing bound water and freezing free water, while there were variations in the amount of non-freezing bound water in these polymers. The effect of ionic crosslinking on water state, mainly on the nonfreezing water content, was discussed.