Abstract
Tapioca starch has potential application in agriculture, foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.
However, tapioca starch has high moisture absorption and microbial contamination.
Hybridization of tapioca starch with chitosan is an alternative method for modification
of its properties. In this work, tapioca starch-chitosan hybrid material was prepared by
precipitation method. Ethanol was used as anti-solvent agent. The characteristics of tapioca
starch-chitosan hybrid material (TS-CSP) were investigated by DSC, FT-IR, TGA, XRD,
and SEM techniques. TS-CSP exhibited quite similar thermal stability to tapioca starch
evaluated by TGA. DSC result showed new compound was formed. FT-IR techniques showed
the interaction between hydroxyl group of tapioca starch and amino group of chitosan
molecule. SEM image of the TS-CSP showed round and polygonal shape with thin layer of
chitosan film on its surface. XRD pattern of TS-CSP showed an A-type starch diffraction
peak with less crystalline structure after being mixed with amorphous chitosan. Moreover,
TS-CSP has anti-bacterial property studied by disk diffusion method. It showed inhibition
effect against S. aureus TISTR 746, E. coli TISTR 527, and P. aeruginosa TISTR 1287 with
inhibition zone of 8, 8, and 9 mm, respectively.
