Molecular features of the interaction and antimicrobial activity of chitosan in a solution containing sodium dodecyl sulfate

Molecular interaction of chitosan with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is a more complicated process than it has been imagined so far. For the first time it has been shown that the shorter chitosan chains are, the more preferably they interact with the SDS and the larger-in-size microparticles they form. The influence of ionic strength, urea and temperature on microparticles formation allows interpreting the mechanism of microparticles formation as a cooperative electrostatic interaction between SDS and chitosan with simultaneous decrease in the surface charge of the complexes initiating the aggregation of microparticles. It is shown that hydrogen bonding is mainly responsible for the aggregation while hydrophobic interaction has a lesser effect. Chitosan demonstrates a high bacteriostatic activity in the presence of SDS in solution and can be promising for preparation of microbiologically stable pharmaceutical hydrocolloids, cosmetic products and chitosan-based Pickering emulsions containing strong anionic surfactants. [Display omitted] •A decrease in molecular weight favors chitosan complexation with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS).•The size of SDS/chitosan microparticles increases with decrease in molecular weight of chitosan.•Hydrogen bonds are mainly responsible for formation of SDS/chitosan complex microparticles.•An increase in temperature leads to disruption of hydrogen bonds and SDS/chitosan microparticles.•Chitosan demonstrates a high bacteriostatic activity in the presence of SDS.