Water absorption and moisture permeation properties of chitosan/poly(acrylamide-co-itaconic acid) IPC films

•Cationic polymer Chitosan forms interpolyelectrolyte complex with anionic poly(AAm-co-IA).•These films show excellent pH dependent swelling behavior.•The water vapor permeation rate (WVPR) of these films fall within the prescribed range of normal wound. In this work, aqueous solutions of chitosan (Ch) and [poly(acrylamide(AAm)-co-itaconicacid(IA)] have been mixed to yield Ch/poly(AAm-co-IA) Inter-polyelectrolyte complex (IPC) films. The films were characterized by FTIR, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). There was remarkable increase in the crystalline nature of IPC films. The films were investigated for their water absorption capacity in the physiological fluid (PF) of pH 7.4 at 37°C. The amount of IA present in the film forming solutions affected the water absorption behavior of the resulting films. The dynamic water uptake data were interpreted by various kinetic models. The effect of pH on the swelling ratio (SR) indicated that the films showed highest swelling in lower as well as higher pH media. The water vapor transmission rates (WVTR) were obtained in the range of 6000–6645g/m2/day.