Physical-Mechanical and Sorption Properties of Cross-Linked Chitosan Based Film Materials

The features of forming film materials based on acid-soluble chitosan are investigated. The dependence of the physicomechanical and sorption properties of the film materials on the amount of the introduced cross-linking agent (glutaraldehyde) and plasticizer (polyoxyethylene glycol) was found. The use of glutaraldehyde is proposed to control the sorption of aqueous media by chitosan-based film materials due to the formation of cross-links that afford the films with water absorption of 200–650% (without adding cross-linking agents and plasticizers—up to 40%). Non-toxic chitosan film materials with more than 90% cell survival rate during incubation with the studied materials were fabricated. The obtained materials have required level of hydrophilic-hydrophobic properties (wetting angle was up to 90°) and physicalmechanical properties (strength and relative elongation were 10–12 MPa and 4–10%, respectively). The possibility of biodegradation of the fabricated films under conditions of soil degradation is shown, which can be applied to create materials with programmed degradation.