Gelation of colloidal chitosan solution was investigated experimentally. Characteristics of chitosan gelation were investigated in terms of concentration and temperature variation of gelation agent. The average molecular weight and the degrees of deacetylation of the chitosan used here were determined to be 5.2×10^5 and 85%, respectively. Potassium hydroxide solutions were used as gelation agents. A simple diffusion model was applied to study the gelation rate of chitosan solution. The diffusion activation energy increased with increasing gelation agent. The diffusion coefficient of the gelation agent in the chitosan gel increased with increasing its concentration and temperature of the casting solution. The concentration variation of the gelation agent in growing chitosan gel can be predicted theoretically using concentration and temperature of the casting solution.

키토산 Colloid 용액의 겔화 특성을 겔화제의 농도와 온도의 변화에 대하여 조사하였다. 본 연구에 사용된 키토산의 평균분자량은 약 5.2×10^5이며, 탈아세틸화도는 약 85%이었다 겔화제로는 KOH를 사용하였으며, 겔화현상을 설명하기 위하여 간단한 확산모델을 이용하였다. 확산활성화에너지는 겔화제의 농도가 증가함에 따라 증가하였으며, 키토산 겔 내부에서 친화제의 확산계수는 겔화제의 농도와 온도가 증가함에 따라 증가하였다. 성장하는 키토산 겔 내부에서 겔화제의 농도변화를 겔화제의 농도와 온도에 대하여 이론적으로 예측할 수 있었다.