Supramolecular Systems from Natural Polymers and Maleic Polyelectrolytes

The formation of polyelectrolyte complexes by interaction between chitosan and maleic acid copolymers as strong/weak dibasic polyanions was investigated. The interaction between the sodium salt of maleic acid copolymers with styrene or vinyl acetate and the chitosan hydrochloride in aqueous solution was followed by potentiometric, conductometric and turbidimetric titration. The effect of the added low molecular salt on the complex formation was also investigated. The precipitated complexes were analyzed by FTIR spectroscopy and TG analysis. Preliminary layer-by-layer deposition experiments were performed to obtain thin films.