Abstract :
Chitosan is a biocompatible, biodegradable and non-toxic biopolymer obtained by N-deacetylation of chitin,
which is one of the abundant natural biopolymer. Chitosan finds its applications in different fields due its unique
physiochemical properties. However, chitosan applications in acidic conditions are limited due to solubility in acidic
medium. In the present study, chitosan beads impregnated with silver nanoparticles (AgNP-CB) were prepared by
simple environmental friendly method. Chitosan beads (CB) and CB after impregnating with silver nanoparticles
were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Further, solubility of AgNP-CB was examined in
different acidic media. The apparent change in color of chitosan beads after treating with silver nanoparticles showed
that silver nanoparticles are distributed over the exterior and interior of the chitosan beads. The FTIR spectra of
chitosan beads and AgNP-CB provide evidence that the silver nanoparticles are bind with the chitosan beads. AgNPCB
was found to be insoluble in all the studied acidic media. The results show that solubility of chitosan beads are
significantly changed after treating with silver nanoparticles.
Keyword :
Chitosan, Silver nanoparticles, FTIR, solubility.