Preparation, characterization and antimicrobial activity of grafted cellulose fiber from durian rind waste

Abstract

In this work, novel strategy for the low-cost and facile grafting copolymerization between isolated cellulose from durian rind waste (DRC) and 2-[acryloyloxyl] ethyltrimethylammonium chloride (CIAETA) initiated with potassium persulfate was developed. Subsequently, the grafting yield of 30.4 % was obtained. Comparative characterization of the ungrafted and grafted cellulose through techniques such as FTIR, SEM, XRD and thermogravimetry confirmed the grafting of the CIAETA monomers onto DRC polymer backbone (DRC-g-CIAETA). Grafting process resulting in formation of porosity of DRC and coarse structure, thus crystallinity index slightly reduced from 48.45 to 36.58 %, however DRC-g-CIAETA increased in thermal stability. Water uptake capability revealed a significant enhancement by almost three times due to the hydrophilicity of CIAETA monomer. In addition, DRC-g-CIAETA demonstrated excellent antibacterial and antifungal ability against S. aureus, S. epidermis, and C. albicans. These antimicrobial properties exhibited potential application in biomedical healthcare fields.