Synthesis and characterisation of chitosan/sodium alginate/carboxymethyl cellulose beads

The biopolymer chitosan, sodium alginate and carboxymethyl cellulose is widely used in many industrial applications and also in laboratory due to its good biocompatibility. In the present work the chitosan/sodium alginate/carboxymethyl cellulose beads were prepared in 1:2:1 ratio in the presence and absence of the glutaraldehyde crosslinker. The prepared polymeric bead samples were characterized by Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) studies. FT-IR result suggests that the interactions are taking place between added polymers and also the presence of crosslinking between the polymers and glutaraldehyde. The XRD studies were carried to find the reduction in crystallinity of prepared samples and through TGA studies the enhancement in the thermal stability of polymer beads were identified. The results confirms the formation and compatibility of the prepared beads.