Interactions of fish gelatin and chitosan in uncrosslinked and crosslinked with EDC films: FT-IR study

Films based on fish gelatin, chitosan and blend of fish gelatin and chitosan before and after cross-linking with EDC have been characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy. The FT-IR spectrum of fish gelatin film showed the characteristic amide I, amide II and amide III bands, and the FT-IR spectrum of chitosan film confirmed that the polymer was only a partially deacetylated product, and included CH3-C=O and NH2 groups, the latter both in their free -NH2 and protonated -NH3(+) form. Analysis of FT-IR spectra of two-component, fish gelatin-chitosan film revealed the formation not only of hydrogen bonds within and between chains of polymers, but also of electrostatic interactions between -COO(-) of gelatin and -NH3(+) of chitosan. Modification with EDC provided cross-linking of composites of the film. New iso-peptide bonds formed between activated carboxylic acid groups of glutamic or aspartic acid residue of gelatin and amine groups of gelatin or/and chitosan.