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Background: For a specific purpose involving the pH of menstrual blood and the pH of the vagina during menstruation, the current work describes the development of pH-responsive superadsorbent polymer (SAP)-coated menstrual pads. Acrylic acid (AA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) were used to create a pH-responsive polymer, which was then applied layer by layer to sanitary napkins. Using FTIR, the chemical composition and structure were examined. By examining tests for absorbent capacity, swelling capacity, water retention, sorption under load, strike through, wicking height, and re-wetness under load, the performance studies of coated pads were contrasted with those of menstrual pads that are sold commercially. Additionally, the coated pad's pH response was examined to determine how stable the polymer was against pH variation. Results: The use of SAP in this study resulted in a higher free swelling capacity (102.22 g/g) for tap water and absorption under load in sanitary napkins. The absorption capacity of SAP ranges from 8 to 24 h, with values ranging from 14.84 to 132.41 g/g. Similarly, wet back and striking through analysis indicated superior outcomes in comparison with commercial products. The pH of the prepared SAP helps to maintain the necessary acidity level (pH 3.02) for the vagina during menstruation. Conclusions: Based on comparison results from FTIR, absorbency capacity, rewet, strike-through, and pH, the report recommends using the pH-responsive SAP to coat the top layer of feminine napkins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starch is acryloylated and copolymerised without incorporating any vinyl monomer such as acrylic acid or acrylonitrile monomers to produce a superabsorbent copolymer. Fenton's initiation system was used to produce polyacryloylated starch ester with varying degree of substitution. The copolymer from starch ester exhibited improved solubility, and an impressive water, saline, and solvents uptake. The superabsorbency of the samples is affected by the number of acryloyl groups on starch backbone. The starch ester with degree of substitution 0.8 had the highest water absorbency (102 g/g) in this experiment. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric (TGA) analyses were used to characterize the products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, nano-fibrillated cellulose (NFC) was added during the UV-induced polymerization process of acrylic acid, so that the resulting poly-(acylic acid)/NFC composites can have improved water absorbency and swelling rate. The effects of process parameters, including NFC content on the UV-induced polymerization process, and the properties of resulting PAA hydrogel/NFC composites were investigated. Results showed that the addition of a small amount of NFC led to significant increase in both water absorbency and swelling rate of the PAA hydrogel/NFC composites. When compared to the control (without the addition of NFC), the water absorbency of the resulting PAA hydrogel/NFC composites increased from 380 to 525 g/g at 1 wt% of NFC addition (based on the dry weight of acrylic acid), while the swelling rate in deionized water and 0.9 % NaCl solution increased by 17.6 and 25.0 %, respectively. The results indicated that the PAA hydrogel/NFC composites were very promising for industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Superabsorbent resin was synthesized based on poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA), acrylic acid(AA) and acrylamide(AM) by inverse suspension polymerization. By plenty of trial and error in previous works, we used mono-octadecyl phosphate as the dispersant to stabilize the suspension system effectively. In addition, the monomer we employed, PEGMA, also took a role as dispersant, this resulted in the shortage of mono-octadecyl phosphate to reduce the consumption of raw materials effectively. The effects of temperature, the concentration of monomers, the dosage of initiator, crosslinking agent and marcomonomer on the absorbency were studied. At the same time, the kinetics of swelling also was studied. The maximum absorption of the resin reached 930 mL/g and 94 mL/g for deionized water and 0.9 wt % NaCl solution, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Acrylic acid (AA) and acrylonitrile (AN) were graft polymerized onto cellulose fluff pulp using ceric ammonium nitrate as initiator. The resulting copolymers were saponified with dilute sodium hydroxide and characterized by FT-IR, SEM and TGA. The potential value of the modified cellulose was assessed through measurements of absorbency properties. A fibre-hydrogel was prepared by an addition of a bifunctional monomer, ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) used for grafting. In second approach, biocide cellulose carbamate was prepared by impregnating the fibres in aqueous thiourea solution and subsequent grafting with acrylonitrile. Antimicrobial activity of the treated cellulose sample was studied against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis according to AATCC test method 100–1999. The results show that the treated fibre gives higher antimicrobial activity. The strong antimicrobial functions achieved on modified fibres, proved that the synthesized biomaterial was effective, very simple and practical to the textile finishing industry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]