title: Thermal and morphological behavior of chitosan/PEO blends containing gold nanoparticles. Experimental and theoretical studies.
abstract: Using solution-casting method, binary blends of chitosan (CS) and poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO 100,000) containing Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared. Shifts in the melting temperature (Tm) and crystallization temperature (Tc) values for CS/PEO and CS/PEO/AuNPs blends were observed by calorimetric analysis. In general, CS/PEO/AuNPs blends tended to decompose at higher temperatures than neat polymers. From the FT-IR spectra, shifts in the main signals, such as -NH2, -OH and COC, were detected in the blends and were attributed to the polymer interactions and the incorporation of gold nanoparticles. In addition, the analysis of the blend topographies by atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that at a higher CS content, more homogenous surfaces were observed. This behavior was attributed to the interactions present in the CS/PEO/AuNPs blends. Finally, theoretical analyses helped to confirm that the gold nanoparticles would be preferentially adsorbed onto the chitosan microdomains due to the interactions between acetyl and hydroxyl groups and Au atoms.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 302, Correo 22, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Sebastián
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonardd
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 302, Correo 22, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Universidad Andrés Bello, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Departamento de Ciencias Químicas, Av. República 275, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saavedra-Torres
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 302, Correo 22, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leiva
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 302, Correo 22, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Deodato
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Radic
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Química, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 302, Correo 22, Santiago, Chile. Electronic address: casaldia@uc.cl.
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saldías
mesh_terms: D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D004355:Drug Stability; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D006046:Gold; D048271:Chitosan
keywords: Chitosan blends; Gold nanoparticles; Nanocomposites