Preparation and Characteristics of Chitin-Gelatin Composite Film

Using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant, the chitin has been oxidized under a certain conditions. And then the IR and SEM of product has been tested, and the results show that hydroxyl group can be transform carbonyl group. What’s more, the oxidation reaction occurred not only in the surface of chitin, but also in its interior. Owing to the reaction of carbonyl group in the oxidation product, this chitin derivatives was applied to cross link with gelatin material, and the properties of modified gelatin film then has been tested. The results of Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) show that the denaturation temperature of composite gelatin film has been enhanced to 109.8°C, and its swelling rate also has been slow, which ensure the stability as a kind of biomaterials, such as microcapsule and microspheres. And the time of native gelatin film achieving equilibrium swelling state is 9 minutes, and the time is 14 minutes for composite film, which means the oxidized chitin can delay the complete swelling rate. And the equilibrium swelling ratio of native gelatin film is larger than that of composite film. Therefore, the composite film will have a good prospects as a kind of potential biomedical.