Spectroscopic characterization of oxidized nanocellulose grafted with fluorescent amino acids

A hardwood bleached kraft pulp was oxidized by sodium hypochlorite using 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO) and sodium bromide in water as catalysts to produce oxidized fibers. These oxidized fibers were mechanically disintegrated into oxidized nano-elements which were separated from the coarse components by centrifugation to obtain oxidized nanocellulose (ONC). The ONC was then coupled with fluorescent amino acids using a two step coupling procedure. First, the ONC was activated by N-ethyl-N'-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride, forming a stable active ester in the presence of N-hydroxysuccinimide. Second, the active ester was reacted with the amino groups on the amino acids, forming an amide bond between the ONC and amino acids. The products (ONC-amino acids) were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and by different spectroscopic techniques such as absorption, emission, FTIR and XPS.