title: Adsorption of chitosan on PET films monitored by quartz crystal microbalance.
abstract: The adsorption behavior of chitosan on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) model film surface was studied using the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique. QCM with a dissipation unit (QCM-D) represents a very sensitive technique for adsorption studies at the solid/liquid interface in situ, with capability of detecting a submonolayer of adsorbate on the quartz crystal surface. Chitosan as well as PET were chosen for this study due to their promising biocompatible properties and numerous possibilities to be used in biomedical applications. As a first step, PET foils were activated by alkaline hydrolysis in order to increase their hydrophilicity. Model thin films were prepared from PET foils by the spin coating technique. The chemical composition of the obtained model PET films was analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and their morphology was characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Furthermore, the adsorption behavior of chitosan on these activated PET films and the influence of adsorption parameters (pH, ionic strength and chitosan solution concentration) were investigated in detail. Additionally, the surface chemistry and morphology of the PET films and the chitosan coated PET films were analyzed with XPS and AFM.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Laboratory for Characterization and Processing of Polymers, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, SI-2000 Maribor, Slovenia. tea.indest@uni-mb.si
authors.forename: Tea
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Indest
authors.forename: Janne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laine
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ribitsch
authors.forename: Leena-Sisko
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stana-Kleinschek
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Strnad
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry; D003460:Crystallization; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D006868:Hydrolysis; D007477:Ions; D008422:Materials Testing; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates / Q000737:chemistry*; D011791:Quartz / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D007477:Ions; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates; D011791:Quartz; D048271:Chitosan