Determination of Acrylamide Monomer in Polyacrylamide Degradation Studies by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A high-performance liquid chromatography method using C18 and ion-exchange columns in series is developed for the determination of acrylamide and acrylic acid monomers in polymeric samples. The C18 column acts as a guard column, trapping surfactants and impurities and retaining the nonionic species. The ion-exchange column then separates the monomers according to their respective ionic strengths. This method has been proven in the laboratory to work successfully for all types of acrylamide/acrylic acid polymers and matrices. Detection limits for both monomers can be achieved in the parts-per-billion range. The method is used to study the possible degradation of polyacrylamide to acrylamide monomer in the presence of glyphosate (a herbicide) and sunlight. Polyacrylamide is used as a spray drift reduction aid in combination with glyphosate. In normal applications, the polymer and herbicide are in contact with each other in the presence of sunlight. The results show that the polymer does not degrade to acrylamide in the presence of glyphosate or sunlight or any combination of the two. It is also observed that glyphosate influences the solubility of polyacrylamide, and care must be used when combining the two.

Polyacrylamide in Agriculture and Environmental Land Management

“…These results together with those of Ver Vers (1999) and MacWilliams (1978) indicate that there is no basis for assuming that PAM degrades to AMD in the natural environment. In soils acclimated to PAM amendment, it has been shown that microbes attack the amide functional group on the polymer, utilizing it as an N source without degradation of the molecule's C spine (Kay-Shoemake et al, 1998a,b).…”

Performance and biocompatibility of extremely tough alginate/polyacrylamide hydrogels

“…Minimal degradation of these gels in these conditions is evidenced by the lack of change in the Young's Modulus and swelling behavior as a function of exposure time to culture conditions. It has previously been shown that alginate must be modified via oxidation in order to degrade and that oxidation or a light-induced free radical mechanism is required for PAAM degradation, none of which are present in this study [15-17]. As these IPN hydrogels are particularly attractive for their mechanical properties, the maintenance of such in cell culture and in vivo environments is critical, although more characterization is necessary to ensure that their toughness is maintained after in vivo implantation.…”

Alternative extraction techniques for analysis of acrylamide in food: Influence of pH and digestive enzymes

“…Ver Vers (1999) mide in food samples can be made chemically available by changing pH during the extraction. One of the reasons can be that, as in polyacrylamide, it is a sterical hinderance for all of the acrylamide to get into solution, during normal water extraction.…”