Development of an antibacterial superabsorbent hydrogel based on tara gum grafted with polyacrylic acid

Tel.: +86-451-8219-1693 An antimicrobial superabsorbent was prepared by grafting polyacrylic acid on tara gum and adding chitosan quaternary ammonium salt (2-NHydroxypropyl-3-trimethylammonium chloride chitosan, HTCC). The effect of the amount of HTCC on swelling ratio of the product was investigated. The product was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that polyacrylic acid was successfully grafted on tara gum and a three-dimensional network structure was formed. The maximum swelling ratio in distilled water and 0.9 wt % NaCl solution reached 650 g/g and 65 g/g, respectively. The addition of HTCC increased the antibacterial property of superabsorbent against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The prepared antimicrobial superabsorbent will broaden the application field of tara gum and chitosan quaternary ammonium salt. This study provides a new path to prepare functional superabsorbent hydrogel.