Chitosan-GFSE film forming solutions were prepared by
dissolving chitosan powder (1.5% w/v) in acetic acid solution
(2.5% v/v). Varying amounts of GFSE (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% v/v) was
added immediately drop-wise into each film-forming solution. The
film forming solutions were stirred at 700 rpm at 24 C to attain
complete dispersion of chitosan and GFSE. The film forming
solutions were then filtered to remove any undissolved impurities.
A total of four solutions each were prepared with the following
compositions: pure chitosan (CG0), chitosan-0.5% v/v GFSE (CG1),
chitosan-1.0% v/v GFSE (CG2) and chitosan-1.5% v/v GFSE (CG3).
The prepared clear solution was cast into petri dishes and dried
at 50 C under vacuum in a convection oven. The dried films were
peeled off and further conditioned in a desiccator at 50 5%
relative humidity and 23 2 C before they were sealed and stored
at 4 C until further characterization and analysis.