Effects of fabrication conditions on formation of chitosan hollow beads

Abstract

Chitosan has been widely used in biomedical fields due to its high biocompatibility. Especially, chitosan beads with hollow interior are gaining attention because they can absorb more drugs and release them in a sustained manner. Previous studies showed that the formation of chitosan hollow beads required organic solvents and toxic crosslinking reagents, which might limit their application in biological systems. Therefore, this study aims to fabricate chitosan beads with a core/shell structure by using simple ionic gelation in mild conditions. Chitosan synthesized from chitin was used in bead formation with sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) as a crosslinking agent. Beads with the largest core diameter are obtained from a 2% (w/v) 205.6 kDa chitosan solution in 1% acetic acid at pH = 9 of the STPP solution.