Extraction, purification and synthesis of acetylated cassava starch was undertaken. The degree of modification for\nthe acetylated (modified) starch was calculated to be 0.03. Physicochemical indices interrogated were all significantly\n(P<0.05) affected by the acetylation. Microstructural studies revealed starches that were predominantly polygonal in\nshape. The FTIR results confirmed introduction of an acetyl group with a new band at 1728 cm-1. The results further\nshow that, the modification did not degrade the granule morphology, but x-ray pattern showed increased crystallinity\nin the acetylated derivative. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry revealed 2 phase\ndecomposition of both starches and improved gelation capacity with new peaks respectively. Rifampicin (RIF) loaded\nstarch-stabilized silver nanoparticles yielded good mean particle size (248 nm), polydispersity index (0.276) and zeta\npotential (18.68 mV). There was a significant (P<0.01) sustained release of RIF from the nano formulations up to 14.0\nh. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests show that, the nano formulation exhibited good antimicrobial activity. It is therefore\nconcluded that, acetylated cassava starch could be a good stabilizer and vehicle for drug delivery.
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