ABSTRACT
Chitosan-alginate affinity microcapsules have been successfully employed for the recovery of bovine serum albumin from saline medium and whole bovine plasma using blue dextran as the affinity ligand. The chitosan-alginate semipermeable membrane is formed as a result of electrostatic interactions between opposite ions on the alginate and chitosan macromolecules. Chitosan solutions prepared in the manner described had a more consistent molecular weight distribution. Sodium alginate, chitosan, and sodium chloride used in the preparation of the capsules were also purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. In spite of the fact that the outer layer of the affinity microcapsule was made of chitosan, as the foregoing results suggest this outer chitosan layer has no significant influence on the adsorption process. The membrane is formed as a result of ionic interactions between chitosan molecules in solution and alginate molecules in the calcium alginate droplets.
