title: Designing chitosan-tripolyphosphate microparticles with desired size for specific pharmaceutical or forensic applications.
abstract: Chitosan (CS) is a natural cationic polymer obtained by the partial N-deacetylation of chitin. Chitosan microparticles can be prepared by cross-linking with tripolyphosphate (TPP) via the ionic interaction between positively charged amino groups (CS) and negatively charged counter ions (TPP). This can be controlled by the charge density of CS and TPP, which depend on the pH and ionic strength of the solution. The purpose of this study is to investigate the combined effects of three independent variables (pH, ionic strength and CS:TPP ratio) on three important physico-chemical properties (viscosity, zeta potential and particle size) during the preparation of microparticles. CS:TPP microparticles were prepared using experimental design and equations were generated and used to predict relative viscosity, zeta potential and particle size under different conditions. This gives us the ability to design tuneable CS-TPP microparticles with desired size for specific pharmaceutical or forensic applications e.g. latent fingerprint visualisation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK; Department of Pharmacy, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK.
authors.forename: Ezzeddin M A
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Hejjaji
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK.
authors.forename: Alan M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK. Electronic address: g.morris@hud.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Gordon A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Morris
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000737:chemistry; D000268:Adhesiveness; D002021:Buffers; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D015195:Drug Design; D065546:Drug Liberation; D044707:Forensic Sciences; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008863:Microspheres; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000737:chemistry; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D010316:Particle Size; D011122:Polyphosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D002021:Buffers; D004337:Drug Carriers; D011122:Polyphosphates; D048271:Chitosan; C005692:triphosphoric acid
keywords: Chitosan-tripolyphosphate microparticles; Experimental design; Ionic gelation