"ENHANCEMENT OF ANTIBACTERIAL AND WATER ABSORPTION PROPERTIES OF WOOD PULP BY GAMMA RADIATION INDUCED GRAFTING WITH QUATERNARY AMMONIUM SALT FOR APPLICATION IN HYGIENE PRODUCTS"

Abstract

"The present work reported the enhancement of antibacterial and water absorption properties of mutually grafted wood pulp with quaternary ammonium-based salts containing 3-acrylamidopropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (APTAC) monomer induced by gamma radiation. Grafting was qualitatively confirmed by FTIR-ATR, TGA, SEM and quantified by calculating the grafting yield and the grafting efficiency. The performance was examined for water absorbency and antibacterial efficacy (R) against gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) and and gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The results showed that water absorption, grafting yield and grafting efficiency increased steadily with the increase in monomer concentration and absorbed gamma radiation dose up to a certain level, followed by either slowing down or leveling off the increasing trend. The water absorption and antibacterial activity of grafted wood pulp was found to be substantially enhanced compared to its pristine counterpart, showing a remarkable 357% increase in water absorption and four-log cycle decrease in the number of living bacteria after 24 hours of incubation."