| Abstract: | Chitosan/calcium-alginate beads were prepared by a coacervation method in aqueous medium. Their swelling properties and morphologies were studied. Complexed beads with a mean diameter of 500 μm were obtained by dropwise addition of a sodium alginate solution into a chitosan-calcium chloride solution. From scanning electron microscopic studies, we observed that chitosan modifies the morphology of calcium-alginate beads. The swelling properties of chitosan/calcium-alginate beads are different from those of calcium-alginate beads. In the case of the calcium-alginate beads, the swelling volume increases as the pH of the medium increases. However, chitosan/calcium-alginate beads show a maximum swelling volume at pH 9.0. |
