Enhancing thermal, viscoelastic, and optical properties of biodegradable fullerene(C_(60))/agarose/chitosan composite films for biotechnology

摘要

Chitosan/agarose composite polymer (CS-AG) has been used extensively in the biomedical applications. In this report, fullerene (C_(60)) was successfully incorporated into CS-AG to investigate its influence on structural, thermal, viscoelastic, and optical properties. Structure analysis performed by XRD and FTIR confirmed an increase in the amorphous structure on the account of the crystalline structure and formation of additional strengthened chemical bonds between CS and AG in the developed CS-based composite film. Blending AG with CS resulted in an improved thermal stability and provided ability for safely heat treatment up to 180 °C. The thermal kinetic parameters were estimated by following Coats-Redfern method which confirmed effective influences of AG and fullerene on the thermal stability of CS-based composite films. In addition, fullerene-loaded CS-based composite films represented improved viscoelastic properties with enhanced glass transition temperature T_g (194.2 °C). Moreover, transmittance of fullerene-loaded CS-based composite film was decreased from 80% for CS to 40%, while reflectance and refractive index are clearly increased. The estimated optical energy band gap was decreased from 5.49 to 5.33 eV. Finally, blinding with AG and incorporating with fullerene provided improved thermal stability, enhanced viscoelastic, and optical properties for CS-based composite polymer. This type of advanced polymer is distinguished by the presence of fullerene loaded to the developed CS/AG for possible biological applications.