Antibacterial Efficacy, Structure and Mechanical Properties of Biodegradable PVA/Chitosan Blend Films

[Synopsis] In this study, to improve the draw characteristic of the chitosan, the composite materials were fabricated by mixing PVA and chitosan, and their antibacterial efficacies, structure and mechanical properties were examined. The structure of PVA/chitosan blend films was examined with wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) weighing devices. PVA/chitosan blend films were fabricated by using the mixture solvent of DMSO and water showed a high draw ratio characteristic. The maximum draw ratio of the chitosan/PVA blend films increased with increasing PVA content. The diffraction strength from the PVA crystal became weakens, the melted peak of PVA became small, and the crystallization degree decreased. Moreover, PVA molecular chain showed the character for a high distribution in the direction of draw, and the improvement of the crystallization degree with the crystal for the distribution was seen. Mechanical properties of PVA/chitosan blend films were examined. As the result, PVA/chitosan blend films did not have an extreme change though Young\u27s modulus and tensile strength decreased by mixing the chitosan. The draw ratio decreased greatly as the content of the chitosan increased. This result was thought that mixing the chitosan did not greatly reduce mechanical properties of PVA. Moreover, Young\u27s modulus and tensile strength improved greatly by drawing. PVA composite materials that contained the chitosan suggested the possibility to be used as high-strength and highmodulus material. PVA/chitosan blend films were able to confirm the improvement of the antibacterial efficacy as the content of the chitosan increased. This result suggested the possibility to commercialize as a textile material where PVA/chitosan blend films had the antibacterial activity