Tunable core-shell particles generated from smart water-soluble chitosan seeds.

A chain-like route was presented to create various core-shell particles with soft, aqueous or inorganic cores respectively. Water-soluble chitosan (WSC) gel particles were obtained through gelating the aqueous WSC solution of 0.02 g/mL at its isoelectric point.

Tunable functional hydrogels formed from a versatile water-soluble chitosan.

A versatile water-soluble chitosan (WSC) was applied to construct two kinds of controllable functional hydrogels. Magnetic beads were prepared by physical cross-linking WSC with sodium alginate, soaking particles with ferrous chloride and being subjected to self-oxidation. Magnetic character of the beads was tunable by simply changing the initial concentration of ferrous ions.

Versatile particles from water-soluble chitosan and sodium alginate for loading toxic or bioactive substance.

Versatile hydrogel particles were obtained by cross-linking of water-soluble chitosan (WSC) with sodium alginate (SA) in an acid-free medium. The structure of the particles was investigated with Fourier transform infrared spectra, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. These characterization results confirmed that the product was physically cross-linked hydrogel consisted of WSC and SA.