Abstract
Tara gum/silver composite superabsorbent polymers were synthesized with tara gum grafted poly(acrylic acid), using K&sub2;S&sub2;O₈ (KPS) as an initiator and N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a cross-linker. The products were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that the silver ions were partially reduced to Ag&sup0; and the amorphous nanoparticles containing Ag&sup0; and Ag&sub2;O were around 10~50 nm in size The tara gum/silver composite superabsorbent polymers exhibited an interconnected porous structure with strong water absorption capacity. The swelling ratio of each product could reach 473 g/g in distilled water and 62 g/g in 0.9% NaCl solution. The antimicrobial activity of the samples against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli increased with the addition of AgNO&sub3; from 0 to 125 mg. This work indicates that the developed tara gum/silver composite superabsorbent polymers can be potentially used for biomedical applications.