Chitosan films with improved tensile strength and toughness from N-acetyl-cysteine mediated disulfide bonds

To improve the mechanical properties of chitosan (Ct) materials without the use of cytotoxic crosslinkers, disulfide cross-linkable Ct was synthesized by grafting N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) to Ct using carbodiimide chemistry. Cast films of NAC-Ct conjugates were prepared with degrees of substitution (DS) of 0%, 6%, 15%, and 20%, and the disulfide bond formation was induced by increasing the reaction media pH to 11. The tensile strength, breaking strain, elastic moduli and toughness of disulfide cross-linked polymers were analyzed by monotonic tensile testing of hydrated NAC-Ct films. Crystallinity was determined via XRD. Results demonstrated that NAC incorporation and crosslinking in chitosan produced tougher polymer films with 4-fold higher tensile strength (10 MPa) and 6-fold greater elongation (365%), but reduced crystallinity, compared to unmodified chitosan. The resilience of NAC-Ct films was evaluated by cyclic testing, and results demonstrate that increasing NAC content produced a more resilient material that dissipated less energy when deformed. These improved mechanical properties broaden chitosan's applicability towards the construction of mechanically robust implantable scaffolds for tissue regeneration.