Exploration of Physicochemical Parameters of Natural Origin Polymers

Abstract

Background: Natural polymers are fascinating category of small chain molecules originating for the natural resources, and few examples include Sodium Alginate and Xanthan Gum which are water-soluble in the nature; used for mainly food packaging, biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. In proposed research work, an effort was made to overcome the polymer challenges emerging from the development of polymer blends, as the miscibility between polymers, is a vital aspect. Objective: This work focuses on the miscibility studies of natural origin polymers. In regards to that, Sodium Alginate/ Xanthan Gum blends were prepared in variable concentrations in aqueous medium and it was utilized for viscosity analysis, FTIR, Ultraviolet spectroscopic studies at variable temperatures. Methods: It was observed that the developed, Sodium Alginate / Xanthan Gum blends are miscible with each other at most of the temperatures (at 20°C, 40°C and 60°C) considering their viscosity parameters, FTIR and UV spectral data. Results: Viscosity studies revealed that the miscibility windows of polymeric ratio increases as the temperature increases whereas FTIR spectral patterns exhibited that the composition having 60:40 ratio of polymers exhibits high intensity stretches and represented to be miscible when compared to other combinations. Conclusion: The present study has reported the simple and efficient method in exploration of the miscibility windows of Sodium alginate and Xanthan gum blend.