In the present study, calcium alginate‐impregnated cotton fabric has been loaded with copper nanoparticles to impart antimicrobial properties. The fabric, so prepared, has been characterized by TEM and FTIR analysis. There has been no adverse effect found on the mechanical properties of fabric due to alginate impregnation. The release of Cu(II) ions has been studied in the physiological fluid at 37°C under different experimental conditions, such as varying concentrations of sodium alginate and the crosslinker calcium chloride. The fabrics showed an appreciable release of Cu(II) ions, extended over a period of 50 h. The amount of Cu(II) ions released showed a negative dependence on the amount of alginate present within the fabric network and the concentration of crosslinker calcium chloride used. The release data was fitted on the Higuchi diffusion‐controlled release model successfully. Finally, the antibacterial activity of fabric was tested by zone inhibition method against E. coli as model bacteria. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012

Cotton fabric with improved antibacterial properties is always invited for effective use in wound dressing and healing applications. In this study, poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) network has been produced in situ in porous cotton cellulose fabric by photo polymerization using UV-radiation. The thermoresponsiveness of the resulting fabric has been used to entrap silver nanoparticles with the fabric. The presence of silver nanoparticles in the fabric has been characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and dynamic light scattering analysis. The fabrics have been found to possess fair mechanical properties. The individual and aggregation particle size of the silver nanoparticles was found to be in the range 13-20 nm and 140-220 nm. This aggregation phenomenon was also confirmed by dynamic light scattering measurement, i.e. 256 nm. The silver nanoparticles exhibits polydispersity index 0.18 and zeta potential À2.86 mV. The fabric exhibited fair biocidal action against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, thus indicating its possible utility in medicinal application.

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Abstract-Superabsorbent poly(methacrylic acid-co-partially neutralized acrylic acid) hydrogels have been prepared by inverse suspension polymerization, using SPAN 80 as dispersant, heptane as the organic phase, N,N -methylene bisacrylamide as the cross-linker and potassium persulphate as initiator. The water uptake behavior has been analyzed as a function of amount of cross-linker, concentration of dispersant, stirring rate, synthesis temperature and particle size of gels. Their swelling behavior was also studied in salt solutions, Various types of diffusion coefficients and activation energy for swelling process were also evaluated.

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