Síntesis y propiedades de filmes basados en quitosano/lactosuero Synthesis and film properties of chitosan and whey

Chitosan is a natural polymer derived from deacetylation of chitin, which exhibits properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability and may form ?lms, being applied in the food industry and medicine. Degradable chitosan ?lms were prepared from chitosan extracted from shrimp shells and whey, using different concentrations of chitosan solution (1, 1.5, and 2% v/v), with (4:20, 6:20 and 8:20 v/v) whey proportions, for 4.5, 5.0 and 5.5 h at 60°C. Chitin extracted previously from shrimp shells was treated with a solution of 50% of NaOH to obtain chitosan with 80.72% deacetylation degree. This chitosan was dissolved in 1% (v/v) acetic acid, leading to the solutions that were then combined with whey. The ?lms were characterized with infrared spectroscopy, and had thickness, density, solubility, transparency, swelling and degradability evaluated. The solubility and degradability of chitosan/whey ?lms decreased with increasing chitosan concentration. The proportion of lactic serum affects the ?lm swelling, and the thickness and density increased with whey relative concentration.