Structure and properties of chitosan containing polyacrylic acid hydrogel grafted SMS Nonwovens

Hydrogels donate moisture to dehydrated tissue and absorb some moisture and accepted in wound healing. Polypropylene (PP) SMS nonwovens were grafted polyacrylic acid (PAA) hydrogel technique contanining chitosan to enhance hydrophilicity and antibacterial activity. In the first stage, nonwovens were hydroxylated by treatment with aqueous potassium peroxydisulfate solution under a strong flow of nitrogen. In the second stage, the hydroxylated nonwovens were subjected to grafting of acrylic acid using cerric ammonium nitrate as an initiator. Subsequently, chitosan was grafted onto the modified NWs with N,N'-Methylenebisacrylamide. The modified nonwovens were characterized by XPS spectroscopy and SEM, the results showed that acrylic acid was copolymerized and hydrogel grafted onto SMS nonwovens. Hydrogel grafted nonwovens exhibited enhanced wettability and water absorption ability. With introduce of chitosan further, the modified NWs exhibited effectively antibacterial activity against E.coli.