DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v25i3.221

Keywords: Chitosan; hydroxyapatite; biocomposites; neutralization; surface property

Abstract

The main objective of this work was to scrutinize the effect of base treatment and hydroxyapatite impregnation on the structural, morphological and antimicrobial properties of the resulting chitosan membranes. In this study, chitosan/hydroxyapatite biocomposite membrane was prepared by solution casting method followed by NaOH treatment for neutralization purpose. It was revealed that the water resistance properties of all composite membrane improved as compared to the pristine chitosan membrane, where their water resistance performance became profoundly augmented as a consequence of NaOH treatment. This is ascribed to the presence of interaction among macromolecular chains or with hydroxyapatite as disclosed by FTIR analysis, which was further supported by the increase in thermal stability as shown by TGA analysis. Incorporation of hydroxyapatite also increase the surface roughness of the resulting membrane, which made them suitable for cell activities. All base-neutralized membranes show no antimicrobial action against Candida albicans, thus demonstrating the importance of cationic properties of chitosan in performing its antifungal activity. These preliminary studies can usefully serve as a guideline for future development of chitosan/hydroxyapatite hybrid membrane based on NaOH treatment which have the potential to be used as guided tissue regeneration (GTR) dental membrane for periodontal regeneration application.