Surfactant-polyelectrolyte complexes on the basis of chitin

The review is devoted to synthesis and study of interfacial properties of electrostatic complexes between oppositely charged chitin derivatives and surfactants, so-called surfactant-polyelectrolyte complexes (SPECs). The ordered nanostructure of insoluble SPEC found by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) looks as a physical gel network formed by micelle-like aggregates interconnected by macro-molecular chains. Viscoelastic properties of such gels were studied by means of the Hertz method and interfacial dilational rheology. A new method based on the effect of diffusion-enhanced gelation at the interface of aqueous solutions of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes and surfactants was developed. This method makes it possible to produce microcapsules containing enzymes, i.e. microreactors for enzymatic catalysis.