Preparation and characterization of CM-chitin/natural rubber blends

Abstract

Carboxymethyl chitin (CM-chitin), a water-soluble derivative of chitin, has several interesting biological activities, leading to its potential use in biomedical field, such as wound dressing application. However, CM-chitin film is rigid and possesses poor mechanical properties. In order to improve flexibility of CM-chitin film, it was blended with natural rubber latex obtained from Hevea brasiliensis since natural rubber has high flexibility and elasticity. In this present study, CM-chitin/deproteinized natural rubber blend was prepared before being fabricated into film. The effect of the blend compositions on the chemical structure, morphology, thermal stability and mechanical properties of the blend films was determined by FTIR, scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and universal testing machine, respective. In addition to the blend compositions, the effects of crosslinking time with glutaraldehyde on the mechanical properties, degree of swelling and weight loss of crosslinked blend films were also investigated.