Research data supporting "Effects of Reaction pH on Self-Crosslinked Chitosan-Carrageenan Polyelectrolyte Complex Gels and Sponges"

Al-Zebari, Nawar; Best, Serena; Cameron, Ruth

dc.contributor.author	Al-Zebari, Nawar
dc.contributor.author	Best, Serena
dc.contributor.author	Cameron, Ruth
dc.date.accessioned	2018-11-26T16:43:45Z
dc.date.available	2018-11-26T16:43:45Z
dc.identifier.uri	https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/285988
dc.description	Macromolecular biomaterials often require covalent crosslinking to achieve adequate stability for their given application. However, the use of auxiliary chemicals may be associated with long-term toxicity in the body. Oppositely-charged polyelectrolytes (PEs) have the advantage that they can self-crosslink electrostatically and those derived from marine organisms such as chitosan (CS) and carrageenan (CRG) are inexpensive non-toxic alternatives to glycosaminoglycans present in the extracellular matrix of human tissues. The aim of this study was to explore the properties of crosslinker-free PEC gels and freeze-dried PEC sponges based on CS and CRG precursors. We offer new insights into the optimisation of conditions and mechanisms involved in the process and offer a systematic study of property changes across a full range of pH values. Zeta potential measurements indicated that the PECs produced at pH 2-6 had a high strength of electrostatic interaction with the highest being at pH 4-5. This resulted in strong intra-crosslinking in the PEC gels which led to the formation of higher yield, viscosity, fibre content and lower moisture content. The weaker interaction between CS and CRG at pH 7-12 resulted in higher levels of CS incorporated into the complex and the formation of more inter-crosslinking through entanglements and secondary interactions between PEC units. This resulted in the production of stable PEC sponge materials compared with the PEC materials produced at pH 6 and below. From the range of samples tested, the PECs produced at pH 7.4 appeared to show the optimum combination of yield, stability and homogeneity.
dc.format	Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel
dc.rights	Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject	chitosan
dc.subject	carageenan
dc.subject	polysaccharide
dc.subject	polyelectrolyte complex
dc.subject	self-crosslinking
dc.title	Research data supporting "Effects of Reaction pH on Self-Crosslinked Chitosan-Carrageenan Polyelectrolyte Complex Gels and Sponges"
dc.type	Dataset
dc.identifier.doi	10.17863/CAM.30969
rioxxterms.licenseref.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
datacite.contributor.supervisor	Cameron, Ruth Elizabeth
dcterms.format	.xlsx
dc.contributor.orcid	Best, Serena [0000-0001-7866-8607]
dc.contributor.orcid	Cameron, Ruth [0000-0003-1573-4923]
rioxxterms.type	Other
pubs.funder-project-id	European Research Council (320598)
datacite.issupplementto.doi	10.1088/2515-7639/aae9ab