Tuning the Network Structure of Crosslinked Chitosan Nanocarriers for Sustained Release of Divalent Micronutrients
Abstract
Biopolymer‐based nanocarriers have become promising systems for sustained ion delivery due to the tunability of their polymeric network structure. In this study, crosslinked chitosan‐tripolyphosphate (CS‐TPP) nanocarriers were formulated and optimized using a Box‐Behnken design to test how different formulation parameters affect the properties of the nanoparticles. The improved formulation made nanoparticles that were less than 452 nm in size and had high entrapment efficiencies (>87%). FTIR, XRD, DSC, SEM‐EDX, and DLS all showed that a crosslinked polyelectrolyte network had formed and that divalent metal ions (Fe 2 + , Cu 2 + , Zn 2 + ) had been successfully added. We used swelling analysis and release experiments to look into the connection between network structure and transport behavior. The nanocarriers showed a biphasic release pattern, with an initial burst followed by steady diffusion over eight days. Kinetic modeling with the Korsmeyer–Peppas equation showed that transport was controlled by Fickian diffusion (n < 0.45). The differences in release behavior were due to differences in the strength of the metal‐polymer interaction, which changes the network's compactness and diffusion pathways. These results show that process parameters control the structure and transport properties of the network, which allows for tunable sustained release behavior.
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BibTeX
@article{berrada2026tuning,
title = {{Tuning the Network Structure of Crosslinked Chitosan Nanocarriers for Sustained Release of Divalent Micronutrients}},
author = {Mhamed Berrada and Taha El Assimi and Abdelkarim Belasri and Catherine Ladavière and Thomas Trimaille and Stephane Trombotto and Mohammed Lahcini and Emmanuel Beyou and Redouane Beniazza},
journal = {Macromolecular Materials and Engineering},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1002/mame.70289},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05767522v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Tuning the Network Structure of Crosslinked Chitosan Nanocarriers for Sustained Release of Divalent Micronutrients
AU - Mhamed Berrada
AU - Taha El Assimi
AU - Abdelkarim Belasri
AU - Catherine Ladavière
AU - Thomas Trimaille
AU - Stephane Trombotto
AU - Mohammed Lahcini
AU - Emmanuel Beyou
AU - Redouane Beniazza
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/18
JO - Macromolecular Materials and Engineering
DO - 10.1002/mame.70289
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05767522v1
AB - Biopolymer‐based nanocarriers have become promising systems for sustained ion delivery due to the tunability of their polymeric network structure. In this study, crosslinked chitosan‐tripolyphosphate (CS‐TPP) nanocarriers were formulated and optimized using a Box‐Behnken design to test how different formulation parameters affect the properties of the nanoparticles. The improved formulation made nanoparticles that were less than 452 nm in size and had high entrapment efficiencies (>87%). FTIR, XRD, DSC, SEM‐EDX, and DLS all showed that a crosslinked polyelectrolyte network had formed and that divalent metal ions (Fe 2 + , Cu 2 + , Zn 2 + ) had been successfully added. We used swelling analysis and release experiments to look into the connection between network structure and transport behavior. The nanocarriers showed a biphasic release pattern, with an initial burst followed by steady diffusion over eight days. Kinetic modeling with the Korsmeyer–Peppas equation showed that transport was controlled by Fickian diffusion (n < 0.45). The differences in release behavior were due to differences in the strength of the metal‐polymer interaction, which changes the network's compactness and diffusion pathways. These results show that process parameters control the structure and transport properties of the network, which allows for tunable sustained release behavior.
SN - 1438-7492
SN - 1439-2054
ER -