Commercial Poly Vinyl Alcohol Research Articles

Fused Deposition Modelling 3D-Printed Gastro-Retentive Floating Device for Propranolol Hcl Tablets.

Three-dimensional printing has revolutionized drug manufacturing and has provided a solution to the limitations associated with the conventional manufacturing method by designing complex drug delivery systems with customized drug release profiles for personalized therapies. The present investigation aims to design a gastric floating tablet with prolonged gastric floating time and sustained drug release profile. In the present study, a gastro retentive floating device (GRFD) was designed and fabricated using a fused deposition modelling (FDM)-based 3D printing technique. This device acts as a multifunctional dosage form exhibiting prolonged gastric retention time and sustained drug release profile with improved oral bioavailability in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Commercial polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polylactic acid (PLA) filaments were used to design GRFD, which was comprised of dual compartments. The outer sealed compartment acts as an air-filled chamber that imparts buoyancy to the device and the inner compartment is filled with a commercial propranolol hydrochloride immediate-release tablet. The device is designed as a round-shaped shell with a central opening of varying size (1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, and 4 mm), which acts as a drug release window. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images were used to determine morphological characterization. The in vitro buoyancy and drug release were evaluated using the USP type II dissolution apparatus. All the designed GRFDs exhibit good floating ability and sustained drug release profiles. GRFDs fabricated using PLA filament show maximum buoyancy (>24 h) and sustained drug release for up to 10 h. The floating ability and drug release from the developed devices were governed by the drug release window opening size and the filament material affinity towards the gastric fluid. The designed GRFDs show great prospects in modifying the drug release characteristics and could be applied to any conventional immediate-release product.

A new PERVAPTM membrane to enhance the dehydration of isopropanol by pervaporation

The performance of a new commercial polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membrane (PERVAPTM 4100HF) was investigated and compared with a standard membrane (PERVAPTM 4100) for the dehydration of isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) with an azeotropic point using pervaporation process. Both membranes were also characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and contact angle (CA) goniometer. The results showed that the PERVAP™ 4100HF was thinner (1–1.5 μm) and had a lower degree of cross-linking than the PERVAP™ 4100HF (2–3 μm). The effect of the feed water concentration and operating temperature on the membranes separation performance in terms of the permeation flux, separation factor, selectivity, and permeance was investigated. The water permeates in the PERVAP™ 4100HF (∼3350 GPU) was seven times higher than that in PERVAP™ 4100 (∼463 GPU) at 70 °C and for 7 wt.% of water concentration in the feed. The water/isopropanol selectivity of the new membrane under these operating conditions was very high (∼17,000). The total permeation flux of water and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) was increased with the feedwater concentration (0.0690–1.0275 and 0.0079–0.6384 kg/m2.hr) for PERVAP™ 4100HF and PERVAP™ 4100, respectively with feed water concentration increased from 7 to 18 wt.%. The temperature dependence of the pervaporation behaviors was investigated in detail in terms of the Arrhenius activation energy. The effect of the feedwater concentration on the Arrhenius activation energy was also studied to evaluate the mass transfer across the membrane under other operating conditions, such as high temperatures and low feedwater concentrations. The new membrane PERVAP™ 4100HF exhibited the best dehydration properties at water concentrations in the azeotropic region and below, making it possible to pervaporate even at low feedwater concentrations.

Dual-mode anti-interference humidity detection: Differential microwave sensor based on microstrip circuit

Monitoring humidity is indispensable to ensure industry and health safety. However, humidity sensors usually suffer from interference by environmental variation. Differential measurement is an effective way to improve the anti-interference of devices in which the circuit design is the key point. The flexible circuit structures and unique dual port characteristics of microwave circuits make it candidates for differential measurement. Herein, a differential microwave humidity sensor based on microstrip circuit is proposed in this paper, which combines the anti-interference ability and the high sensitivity. Commercial polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is applied as sensitive material. The proposed sensor exhibits a high dual-mode response for both frequency (1.5 MHz/%RH) and magnitude (0.39 dB/%RH) for the humidity range (25% RH – 85% RH). Moreover, the anti-interference measurement confirms the performance of baseline correction to enhance the sensor accuracy. Meanwhile, the sensor mechanism is proposed by the propagation of electromagnetic wave for the first time. This work provides a novel solution of anti-interference differential sensors for monitoring humidity.

Design and development of 3D-printed bento box model for controlled drug release of propranolol HCl following pharmacopeia dissolution guidelines

The goal of this study was to develop a 3D-printed bento box model (3D-printed BB) with one or two chambers containing propranolol hydrochloride (PNL) as powder and matrix tablet for controlled drug release at varying times using United States Pharmacopeia (USP) dissolution guidelines. The 3D-printed BBs were made with commercial polyvinyl alcohol filament and a fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer, with varying infill percentages and wall thicknesses. The physicochemical properties of the 3D-printed BBs, including appearance, thickness, size, weight, hardness, swelling, and erosion properties were investigated. The surface and cross-section morphologies of the 3D-printed BBs were characterized using a FESEM. According to FESEM images, the different infill percentages had a significant effect on the internal structure of the 3D-printed BBs’ caps, but a minor effect on the internal structure of their walls. PNL release from the 3D-printed BB began in a pH 1.2 medium, followed by drug release in a pH 6.8 medium. Some formulations of 3D-printed BB could achieve a drug release percentage within all the ranges specified by USP dissolution guidelines. 3D-printed BBs, therefore, have the potential to revolutionize the future of the pharmaceutical industry by facilitating control of the amount of drugs released at predetermined intervals.

3D printing sacrificial templates for manufacturing hydrogel constructs with channel networks

In hydrogel-based tissue engineering, channel network is an efficient structure for transporting nutrients/oxygen to support cell survival and construct living tissues in vitro. 3D printing can create complex hydrogel-based tissue constructs, however, due to the weak mechanical properties of hydrogel bioinks, cell-laden hydrogel constructs with effective channel networks are difficult to be directly printed. Here, an easy sacrificial 3D printing method based on commercial desktop 3D printer and water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to construct effective hydrogel channel networks is introduced. Specifically, i) commercial PVA consumables are printed to be sacrificial templates; ii) gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) solution is cast to encapsulate the sacrificial template; iii) the sacrificial template is dissolved to form channel networks. PVA is a water-soluble sacrificial material with sufficient dissolution time and high mechanical strength, which can avoid the disadvantages of classic sacrificial materials (sugar and Pluronic F127). High roundness of printed PVA filaments results in high roundness of the channel networks. The interconnected channel networks accelerate the supply of oxygen/nutrients and promote cell growth. And with a period of culture, the higher the channel networks density, the better the cell growth. Additionally, PVA sacrificial templates have high stability and long-term preservation, facilitating transportation, circulation and use, which is conducive to the manufacturing and promotion of hydrogel-based constructs with channel networks. Taken together, our easy strategy of manufacturing hydrogel constructs with channel networks has broad application prospects, such as 3D cell culture, construction of functional tissue in vitro or tissue repair in vivo etc.

The combination of a new PERVAPTM membrane and molecular sieves enhances the ethanol drying process

A new commercial polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membrane (PERVAP™ 4100HF) was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and contact angle (CA) goniometer. The separation performance of the membrane for drying ethanol by pervaporation was also investigated and compared with a standard membrane (PERVAP™ 4100) under same operating conditions. The results show that the new membrane is thinner and less cross-linked than the standard one. The water permeance in PERVAP™ 4100HF (∼800 GPU) is four-time higher than that in PERVAP™ 4100 (200 GPU) at 70 °C and for <5 wt.% of water concentration in the feed. The water/ethanol selectivity of the new membrane under this operating condition is very high (∼7000). The effect of feed water concentration on the Arrhenius activation energy was also investigated to evaluate the mass transfer through the membrane under other operating conditions, like higher temperatures and lower feed water concentrations. Simulation results confirmed that optimizing the operating temperature, the new membrane exhibits outstanding separation performance for drying ethanol below 500 ppm of water. Lastly, the ethanol drying process using the PERVAP™ membranes is compared with a molecular sieve system. Although the new membrane can easily dry ethanol below 500 ppm of water, a hybrid system consisting of pervaporation followed by molecular sieves leads to an interesting process solution, e.g., for a feed flow of 1000 kg/h, the required membrane area and the quantity of molecular sieves can be reduced from 650 m2 to 250 m2 (2.6 times less), and from 2252 kg to 204 kg (11 times less), respectively. Therefore, the ethanol drying process can be greatly optimized in terms of capital costs and energy when using a hybrid system instead of using pervaporation or molecular sieve system alone.

Green properties of dry-pressed alumina using a new synthesized copolymer able to act simultaneously as dispersant and binder with plastic character

Statistical copolymers containing both carboxylate and hydroxyl functions have been synthesized in order to promote the dispersion of alumina suspensions in addition to the binding of pressed green disc-shaped specimens. In aqueous suspensions, the carboxylate groups are responsible for maintaining a high adsorption of the copolymer onto the alumina surface particles, thus increasing surface charges promoting a high electrostatic stabilization. The hydroxyl functions, which are not preferentially adsorbed on the surface i) participate in the steric stability of the suspension and, ii) confer a high mechanical resistance to green powder compacts compared to specimens classically shaped with 3 wt% of commercial polyvinyl alcohol and 1 wt% polyethylene glycol. Indeed, tensile stress to rupture evaluated by diametral compression is always greater than 3.5 MPa. The transition temperature of synthesized copolymers ranges from -10 to 57 °C, makes it possible to confer a plastic character to the organic system and to reach a high relative green density (around 63%) after compaction under 190 MPa at room temperature. Moreover, the effect of various molecular weights (from 11000 to 47000) on properties of spray-dried granules and of pressed compacts has been studied. A narrow spray-dried granule size distribution of corresponds to an optimal content of added copolymer, which in turn results in an optimal density of compacted parts. Optimal density values of the compacted parts follow the same trend as the highest particle size distribution corresponding to the optimal added copolymer content. The optimal values of densities correspond to an added amount of 1, 1.5 and 2 wt% respectively of high, medium and low copolymer's molecular weight.

Cellulose nanofibrils-based hybrid foam generated from Pickering emulsion toward high-performance microwave absorption

The development of multifunctional microwave absorbers that worked in complex environments remains challenging. In this study, oil-in-water Pickering emulsion gelation approach was combined with freeze-drying to prepare foam-based microwave absorbers along with appealing photo-thermal conversion and thermal insulation. In hybrid foam, cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) and polylactic acid (PLA) serve as three-dimensional skeleton, where carbon nanotubes (CNT) and Fe3O4 nanoparticles are homogeneously incorporated, which forms a conductive network with hetero-interfaces. The optimal reflection loss value of the foam reaches −65.14 dB with a thickness of 3.0 mm. The foam also demonstrate high photo-thermal conversion performance with its surface temperature up to 97 °C after irradiation under 1 Sun for 5 min. Additionally, the foam shows superior thermal insulation comparing with the commercial polyvinyl alcohol and polyurethane foams. This study may offer a promising approach to develop ultralight and high-performance microwave absorber with great potential for multifunctional applications.

Acetic acid Separation as a Function of Temperature Using Commercial Pervaporation Membrane

Acetic acid was separated from a dilute mixture using a commercial polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membrane. Intrinsic separation characteristics of the membrane were studied as a function of temperature. The degree of membrane swelling decreased marginally with increase in feed temperature. At 25oC the maximum degree of swelling was found out to be 46.3%, which reduced to 39.5% at 65oC. Although the pervaporation flux increased with increasing temperature of the liquid feed mixture, the separation factor decreased. From the temperature dependence of diffusion and permeation values, the Arrhenius apparent activation parameters for water permeation were estimated. Diffusion and partition coefficient for water and acid were found to increase with temperature, but the diffusion coefficient of water was substantially higher than that of acetic acid at a constant feed concentration. The membrane used in the present study could tolerate highly concentrated corrosive acetic acid, thus may be useful for dehydration of other organics.

Dehydration of waste cutting oil using a pervaporation process

Abstract A commercial polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) hybrid membrane (B3 membrane) was tested to evaluate its ability to dehydrate waste cutting oil by pervaporation (PV). The major material and the water content of the waste cutting oil were analyzed by TGA, NMR, and Karl Fisher titrator. A preliminary PV experiment that involved treatment with 15 wt% aqueous diethylene glycol (DEG) was carried out at various temperatures, and 85 °C was found to be the optimal temperature. The separation factor increased from around 530 to 1140 and the total flux decreased from approximately 0.88 to 0.01 kg/m2/h as the water concentration in the feed solution decreased. Then, a PV experiment that involved treating the waste cutting oil was carried out at 85 °C and the obtained results were almost the same as those in the preliminary experiment, indicating that PV is an effective method for recycling waste cutting oil.

Preparation and investigation of controlled-release glipizide novel oral device with three-dimensional printing

The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of combining fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing technology with hot melt extrusion (HME) to fabricate a novel controlled-release drug delivery device. Glipizide used in the treatment of diabetes was selected as model drug, and was successfully loaded into commercial polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) filaments by HME method. The drug-loaded filaments were printed through a dual-nozzle 3D printer, and finally formed a double-chamber device composed by a tablet embedded within a larger tablet (DuoTablet), each chamber contains different contents of glipizide. The drug-loaded 3D printed device was evaluated for drug release under in vitro dissolution condition, and we found the release profile fit Korsmeyer–Peppas release kinetics. With the double-chamber design, it is feasible to design either controlled drug release or delayed drug release behavior by reasonably arranging the concentration distribution of the drug in the device. The characteristics of the external layer performed main influence on the release profile of the internal compartment such as lag-time or rate of release. The results of this study suggest the potential of 3D printing to fabricate controlled-release drug delivery system containing multiple drug concentration distributions via hot melt extrusion method and specialized design configurations.

Electrokinetic preconcentration of magnetite core – carboxylic shell nanoparticles by capillary electrophoresis

Online electrokinetic preconcentration of magnetite core/carboxylic shell nanoparticles (MNPs) was studied by capillary electrophoresis using reversed and suppressed electroosmotic flow (EOF). 50mM sodium borate pH 9.5 was used as a background electrolyte. CTAB additive was used to reverse EOF and commercial polyvinylalcohol (PVA)-coated capillaries were used for EOF suppressed studies. Analyses in PVA-coated capillaries were more reproducible and therefore, the setup was further optimized in terms of water plug injection time, sample injection time, and voltage. Within the optimal conditions, the MNPs dispersed in water are electrokinetically loaded into BGE consisting of 50mM sodium borate pH 9.5 using −10kV for 120s. In comparison with the hydrodynamic injection of 5s by 50mbar, the electrokinetic injection allows 860-fold preconcentration of MNPs.

Pervaporative Separation of Methanol–Methyl Acetate Mixtures with Commercial PVA Membranes

Pervaporation may successfully be implemented for the separation of azeotropic mixtures which generally requires energy intensive separation procedures. Separation of methanol from methyl acetate by pervaporation is a representative application. In this study the commercial polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based membranes PERVAPTM 4155-30, PERVAPTM 4155-70, and PERVAPTM 4155-80 were used to recover methanol from binary methanol–methyl acetate mixtures. The separation performance was investigated for various operating parameters such as feed composition, feed temperature, and permeate pressure and discussed in terms of permeance and selectivity. An empirical model was developed to quantify the effect of membrane swelling on the permeate flux.

Improved manufacturing process for printed cantilevers by using water removable sacrificial substrate

Suspended structures are an important element in the vast majority of electromechanical systems. The definition of this kind of structures is a not totally resolved problem in printing electronics where the definition of a smooth sacrificial layer makes difficult their fabrication. Based on a previous work using a sacrificial substrate, we present in this paper a significant improvement of this technique in terms of reproducibility and yield rate. The sacrificial substrate is a commercial polyvinyl alcohol film which can be removed by water. The structural material is silver paste which has shown better performance during the removal of the sacrificial substrate than the previous approach based on an acetone bath. Furthermore, this sacrificial material is biodegradable as well as its solvent. In this paper, we show the fabrication process for printed cantilevers, including a characterization of their peak to peak displacements as a function of the applied acceleration and frequency. Moreover, the variation of the capacitance for different acceleration values is presented.

Rapid determination of globin chains in red blood cells by capillary electrophoresis using INSTCoated fused‐silica capillary

A laboratory-made INSTCoated fused-silica capillary has been newly used for CE separation of four mixtures of proteins in sodium phosphate BGEs at pH 3.0 and 2.5, respectively. The obtained separation efficiencies range from 145,000 theoretical plates per meter for myoglobin to 1,216,000 m(-1) for lysozyme. A total of 49-89% of the number of theoretical plates was obtained in a commercial polyvinyl alcohol coated capillary compared to the INSTCoated capillary under the same experimental conditions, 0-86% was obtained in a laboratory polyacrylamide-coated capillary, and only 0-6% was obtained in an uncoated fused-silica capillary. The RSD values for the intraday repeatability for an INSTCoated capillary were 0.1-1.0% (migration time) and 0.3-2.4% (peak area); RSD values for the interday repeatability in the same capillary are 0.6-1.4% (migration time) and 2.4-5.5% (peak area); RSD values for interday repeatability between different capillaries equaled 1.7-2.1% (migration time) and 2.8-10.9% (peak area). The INSTCoated capillary has been further used for rapid determination of globin chains isolated from red blood cells. A separation of α and β chains prepared from adult blood has been completed in 3 min with a peak resolution of 1.3, and the separation of α and (G)γ chains prepared from newborn blood took 3 min with a peak resolution of 3.6.

Evaluation of molecular mass and tacticity of polyvinyl alcohol by non-equilibrium capillary electrophoresis of equilibrium mixtures of a polymer and a dye

Non-equilibrium capillary electrophoresis of equilibrium mixtures (NECEEM) has been used to characterize polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Commercial PVA samples with different molecular masses, from M w = 15 up to 205 kDa, were used. According to the 13C NMR spectra, the samples also differed in tacticity (stereoregularity). Mixtures of PVA and the anionic azo-dye Congo Red (CR) were injected in the presence of a borate buffer. The electropherograms gave a band and a peak due to the residual PVA–CR complex and the excess dye, respectively, plus a superimposed exponential decay due to the partial dissociation of the complex during migration. The stoichiometry of the PVA–CR complex, q = [monomer]/[dye], reached a maximum, q sat , which depended on both M w and tacticity of PVA. Thus, q sat decreased from a molar ratio of ca. 4.9 to 3.6 at increasing M w values, this variation also being largely dependent on tacticity. A similar dependence of the electrophoretic mobility of the complex on both M w and tacticity was also observed. A possible explanation, based on the formation of a stack of CR ions inside the PVA–CR complex, was proposed and discussed. Finally, at increasing M w values, the stability constant of the complex increased slightly, and the pseudo-first order dissociation rate of the complex decreased, this later parameter also showing a dependence on both M w and tacticity.

The biological performance of cell-containing phospholipid polymer hydrogels in bulk and microscale form

The biological performances of a cell-containing phospholipid polymer hydrogel in bulk and miniaturized formats without an additional culture medium support were investigated and compared. The cell-containing hydrogel was formed spontaneously when solutions of commercial polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and the phospholipid polymer poly[2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC)- co- n-butyl methacrylate (BMA)- co- p-vinylphenylboronic acid (VPBA)] (PMBV) suspended with cells in a cell culture medium are mixed together. Bulk and miniaturized hydrogels, with approximate thicknesses of 3.1 mm and 400 μm, respectively, were prepared in a 96-well microplate and a glass microchip, respectively. In both cases, the hydrogels were homogeneous, and cells were spatially encapsulated. The long-term observation (4 and 8 days) of cell morphology suggested that cells were passively attached to the interface of the hydrogel but were unable to spread and flatten, which inhibited cell growth in both hydrogels. Viability evaluations revealed that cells in both hydrogel formats maintained the same high viability levels after long-term encapsulation. Cytotoxicity assays indicated that the cells in the miniaturized hydrogel maintained a high degree of correlation in cytotoxic sensitivity with the cells in the bulk hydrogel and a routine medium culture. The PMBV/PVA hydrogel not only provides a beneficial cytocompatible microenvironment for long-term cell survival without an additional culture medium support but also creates a static condition for cell sustainment in a microchip similar to that in bulk. The uniform long-term performances of PMBV/PVA hydrogels in bulk and miniaturized formats make them ideal for the development of long-term, flexible, three-dimensional, living cell-based tools for routine cell-based assays and applications on bulk to microscale levels.

Fabrication of high strength PVA/SWCNT composite fibers by gel spinning

High-strength composite fibers were prepared from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) (Degree of polymerization: 1500) reinforced by single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) containing few defects. The SWCNTs were dispersed in a 10wt.% PVA/dimethylsulfoxide solution using a mechanical homogenizer that reduced the size of SWCNT aggregations to smaller bundles. The macroscopically homogeneous dispersion was extruded into cold methanol to form fibers by gel spinning followed by a hot-drawing. The tensile strength of the well-oriented composite fibers with 0.3wt.% SWCNTs was 2.2GPa which is extremely high value among PVA composite fibers ever reported using a commercial grade PVA. The strength of neat PVA fibers prepared by the same procedure was 1.7GPa. Structural analysis showed that the PVA component in the composite fibers possessed almost the same structure as that of neat PVA fibers. Hence a small amount of SWCNTs straightforward enhanced by 0.5GPa the tensile strength of PVA fibers. The results of mechanical properties and Raman spectra for the SWCNT composites suggest the relatively good interfacial adhesion of the nanotubes and PVA that improves the load transfer from the polymer matrix to the reinforcing phase.

Anaerobic Biodegradation of Blends Based on Polyvinyl Alcohol

The presented work deals with blends composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and biopolymers (protein hydrolysate, starch, lignin). PVA does not belong to biologically inert plastics but its degradation rate (particularly under anaerobic conditions) is low. A potential solution to the issue problem lies in preparation of blends with readily degradable substrates. We studied degradation of blow-molded films made of commercial PVA and mentioned biopolymers in an aqueous anaerobic environment employing inoculation with digested activated sludge from the municipal wastewater treatment plant. Films prepared in the first experimental series were to be used for comparing biodegradation of blends modified with native or plasticized starch; in this case effect of plasticization was not proved. The degree of PVA degradation after modification with native or plasticized starch increases in a striking and practically same manner already at a starch level as low as approximately 5 wt.%. Films of the second experimental series were prepared as additionally modified with protein hydrolysate and lignin. Only lignin-modified samples exhibited a somewhat lower degree of biodegradation but regarding the measure of lignin present in blend this circumstance is not essential. Level of biodegradation with all discussed films differed only slightly—within range of experimental error.

Synthesis and Characterization of Starch-Poly(vinyl Acetate) Graft Copolymers and their Saponified Form

A redox initiation system based on potassium persulfate/acetone sodium bisulphite (KPS/ASBS) was developed to initiate the graft copolymerization of vinyl acetate (VAc) monomer onto corn starch in aqueous solution. The grafting reaction was studied with respect to grafting yield (GY), grafting efficiency (GE) and total conversion (TC) and results obtained were compared with those a well-established redox initiation system namely potassium persulfate/sodium bisulphite (KPS/SBS). The effect of reaction variables such as redox initiator concentration, liquor ratio, reaction time and temperature as well as VAc concentration were investigated. The GY, GE and TC increased significantly with increase of the redox initiation concentration up to 8/16 mmol/l irrespective of the initiation system used. Moreover, optimal grafting was obtained at 60 ○C for KPS/ASBS redox system and 70 ○C for KPS/SBS redox system. Saponification of poly (vinyl acetate)-starch graft copolymers were effected using NaOH in three different bath media (n-hexane, acetone or methanol) to convert starch-g-poly(vinyl acetate) to starch-g-poly(vinyl alcohol). Higher extent of solubility in hot water of the saponified form was achieved by using a bath containing n-hexane/sodium hydroxide; however, increasing the graft yield higher than 26.3% decreases the solubility. The structures and thermal stability of starch, grafted starch copolymer and saponified grafted starch copolymer were characterized by infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Moreover, the rheological behavior as well as sizing performance of the saponified grafted starch copolymers were evaluated and compared with the native starch and commercial polyvinyl alcohol.