Enzyme-assisted modification of cellulose/chitin fibers with NIPAAm

Authors

ANAMARIA IRIMIA
EMILIA CSISZAR
MARIUS DOBROMIR
FLORICA DOROFTEI
CORNELIA VASILE

DOI

10.3906/kim-1502-27

Abstract

Coating processes are applied in order to improve coating adhesion and resistance to degradation. Covalently bound organic coatings rather than merely physically bound ones assure stable modification. In this study a novel two-step process was developed to modify cellulose/chitin mix fibers consisting of enzymatic activation with a commercial cellulase, followed by a coupling reaction with N-isopropylacrylamide (or poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)) in the presence of 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). Both enzyme-activated and subsequently modified samples were characterized by ATR-FTIR, XPS, and SEM. All obtained results confirm the structural and morphological changes of the fiber surface after the application of the two-step procedure. The particular responsiveness to temperature and to pH of the coated fibers was evidenced by following the swelling behavior. It was established that the swelling kinetics followed a Fickian behavior.

Keywords

Fibers, responsive, cellulose, chitin, enzymes

First Page

1089

Last Page

1101

Recommended Citation

IRIMIA, ANAMARIA; CSISZAR, EMILIA; DOBROMIR, MARIUS; DOROFTEI, FLORICA; and VASILE, CORNELIA (2015) "Enzyme-assisted modification of cellulose/chitin fibers with NIPAAm," Turkish Journal of Chemistry: Vol. 39: No. 5, Article 16. https://doi.org/10.3906/kim-1502-27
Available at: https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/chem/vol39/iss5/16