O-(2-hydroxy benzoyl) chitosan / starch blend: preparation, characterisation and antimicrobial activities

Abstract

Modification of Chitosan into its derivative is a convenient method to improve its properties like metalrnion adsorption, antimicrobial activity, etc. In this work the hydroxyl group of chitosan was modified byrnreacting with 2-hydroxybenzoic acid to obtain O-(2-hydroxybenzoyl) chitosan (OSCS). Further, thernprepared derivative was blended with starch in 1:1 ratio using glycerol as a film forming material. It wasrnnamed as OSCSB. The derivatives were characterised by FTIR, XRD and TGA to confirm theirrnformation. XRD and TGA results showed the decrease in crystalline nature and thermal stability of thernblend. The antibacterial activity was investigated against Escherichia coli (E.coli), Staphylococcusrnaureus (S.aureus) and Proteus mirabilis (P. mirabilis) by Zone of Inhibition method. The antifungalrnactivities against Candida albicans (C. albicans), Aspergillus niger (A. niger) and Aspergillus flavus (A.rnflavus) were also assessed by the same method. This study clearly showed that both ester derivatives andrnits blend having a significant effect against the tested microbes.