The miscibility of collagen/hyaluronic acid/chitosan blends investigated in dilute solutions and solids

In the present study, the results from viscometric measurements, tensile tests and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of polymer blends containing collagen (Coll) and hyaluronic acid (HA) with and without chitosan (Ch) are presented. The viscosity interaction parameter of each polymer in 0.1 mol.dm(-3) CH3COOH/0.3 mol.dm(-3) NaCl solution for the collagen and 0.3 mol.dm(-3) NaCl or 0.1 mol.dm(-3) HCl solution for the hyaluronic acid and 0.1 mol.dm(-3) CH3COOH/0.3 mol.dm(-3) NaCl solution for the chitosan as well as the two-component blend systems and the ternary blend systems have been determined. These studies indicated that collagen/hyaluronic acid blends were miscible at any composition (Coll/HA: 80/20, 50/50, 20/80) in 0.1 mol.dm(-3) CH3COOH/0.3 mol.dm(-3) NaCl and 0.1 mol.dm(-3) HCl at 25 degrees C. In the case of Coll/HA/Ch ternary blends, the polymeric components were partially miscible. The mechanical properties of films such as tensile strength and Young's modulus depend on the blend composition. Coll/HA blends possessed a tensile strength and Young's modulus of 163-57.6 MPa and 1.0-1.9 GPa, respectively. The addition of chitosan to the blend led to an increase in tensile strength by approximately 50%. The results of FTIR analysis suggested that there was the existence of intermolecular interactions between functional groups of polymers. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.