Study on Improving Properties of Collagen Membrane by Blending Chitosan and Collagen

The properties of collagen membrane were improved by blending chitosan(CH) and collagen with different ratios. The microcosmic surface structure of collagen membrane, CH membrane and collagen/CH membranes were observed by atomic force microscopy. Thermal properties of different membranes were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The swelling ratio, hydroscopic and mechanical property of different membranes were determined and compared. The results show that collagen is miscible with CH, and the collagen fibers are dispersed and ordered interweave structure of collagen fibers are changed. The swelling ratios and tensile strength of collagen/CH membranes with different blend ratios reduce, but hydroscopic ratios increase and the thermal property improve while there is small amount of CH in the collagen/CH membranes. The optimal blend ratio of collagen and CH is 3∶2 and the denaturation temperature(140℃) of the resultant collagen/CH membrane is almost the same with that of collagen membrane. And the swelling ratio decrease from 95.1% to 63.8% and hydroscopic ratio at 24 hours increase from 6.6% to 14.8%, whereas tensile strength decrease slightly.