Characterization of Physical Properties and Tensile Strength of Chitosan/Fibroin Composite via Freeze Drying Method

Abstract

© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. Chitosan and silk fibroin composite are natural biopolymers widely used in biomedical engineering applications. This work studied the properties of a chitosan and silk fibroin composite were prepared by freeze drying method. The characterizations were operated by fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. In addition, the tensile strength was obtained for various compositions. The results showed that the freeze-dried composite was of high porosity with 3D interconnected pores that are suitable for tissue engineering. In addition, both Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction indicated that the composite materials were water soluble.