Grafting Study and Antifungal Activity of a Carboxymethyl Cellulose Derivative

Graft copolymerization of appropriate monomers onto cellulose and its derivatives can enhance their characteristics and consequently expand their potential applications. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was prepared and characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and XRD. Graft copolymerization of acrylic acid sodium salt (AAs) onto CMC using ammonium persulfate (APS) as a free radical initiator was carried out under nitrogen atmosphere in aqueous solution. Occurrence of grafting was confirmed by comparison of FTIR spectra of CMC and the graft copolymers as well as the XRD patterns and thermal analysis. The effects of concentration of AA, temperature, concentration of APS and reaction time on the grafting yield were investigated by determining the grafting percentage and grafting efficiency. With other conditions kept constant, the obtained optimum grafting conditions were: CMC = 0.2 g, [AAs] = 2 mM, [APS] = 7.5 mM, temperature 70 degrees C and reaction time = 2 h. A preliminary study was then carried out to evaluate the antifungal activity of the prepared graft copolymer. This preliminary investigation of the prepared graft copolymers showed that they may be tailored and exploited to expand the utilization of these systems in medical applications.