Two-step preparation of nano-scaled magnetic chitosan particles using Triton X-100 reversed-phase water-in-oil microemulsion system

[Display omitted] •A new two-step route for nano-scaled magnetic chitosan particles preparation.•Triton X-100 reversed-phase microemulsion system was used for chitosan coating.•Narrow size distribution of magnetic chitosan nanoparticles was achieved.•Quantitative evaluation of recoverability for the magnetic chitosan nanoparticles. A new two-step route for the preparation of nano-scaled magnetic chitosan particles has been developed, different from reported one-step in situ preparation and two-step preparation method of reversed-phase suspension, Triton X-100 reversed-phase water-in-oil microemulsion encapsulation method was employed in coating the pre-prepared Fe3O4 nanoparticles with chitosan. The resultant magnetic chitosan particles owned a narrow size distribution ranging from 50 to 92nm. X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) indicated that the chitosan coating procedure did not change the spinal structure of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles. The results of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrated that the chitosan was coated on Fe3O4 nanoparticles and its average mass content was ∼50%. The saturated magnetization of the magnetic Fe3O4/chitosan nanoparticles reached 18.62emu/g, meanwhile, the nanoparticles showed the characteristics of superparamagnetism. The magnetic chitosan nanoparticles showed a high recoverability of 99.99% in 10min when pH exceeded 4. The results suggested that the as-prepared magnetic chitosan particles were nano-scaled with a narrow size distribution and a high recoverability.