Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR) , IIT Madras
Preparation of Antimicrobial, Non-toxic Absorbents for Disposable Sanitary Napkins by Ionotropic Crosslinking of Chitosan
Technology Category/Market
Bio-Chemical Technology: Medical & Surgical
Industry: Bio-Medical, Environment engineering
Application: Pharmaceutical, Tissue Engineering, Sanitary Napkin Manufacturing
Market: The Indian sanitary napkin market size reached US$ 688.9 Million in 2022, and said market is projected to reach US$ 1,227.1 Million by 2028, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5% during 2023-2028.
Image
Problem Statement & Unmet Need
- Chemical cross-linkers used to crosslink Chitosan are toxic, making them unusable for applications.
- As an exception, Genipin is naturally extracted and less toxic than other chemicals but very expensive.
- Ionotropically crosslinked systems are mechanically unstable and react to environmental changes due to high pH-sensitive swelling, creating gel dissolution risk.
- Metal-organic complexation crosslinked Systems have high cytotoxicity and are prone to exchange reactions with other metal ions.
- Therefore, there is a requirement to overcome the above issues with an improvised solution as discussed in the present invention.
Technology
- A rapid method, for preparing an absorbent for disposable sanitary napkins by ionotropic crosslinking of chitosan by electrostatic interactions, is described in the following steps:
- Dissolving chitosan in a mild acid solution having a pH range of less than 6.5
- Adding and dissolving a water-soluble metal precursor in the solution obtained
- Adding a precipitating agent while continuously shearing the above-mentioned solution for crosslinking chitosan.
- The crosslinked particles are prepared by drying and grinding the gel (in situ) followed by freeze-drying to get a porous network with a high surface area to crosslink chitosan by electrostatic interactions between chitosan polycation and the negatively charged colloidal particles.
- The mild acid solution is selected from an aqueous solution of acetic acid, hydrochloric acid, and others; and the water-soluble metal precursor is selected from the group of water-soluble salts composed with at least one of chlorides, nitrates, and others as claimed.
- To determine the suitability of absorbent ABSORPTION UNDER LOAD (AUL) TEST is performed shown in Fig. 1.
Key Features/Value Proposition
User Perspective:
- The absorbent used in this bio-degradable sanitary napkin is extracted from renewable sources making it antimicrobial, anti-fungal, non-toxic bleach-free, cost-effective, irritation-free, & accessible to all women.
Technical Perspective:
- The gels absorb water and saline while being anti-microbial & neutralized under load and low cytotoxicity. It has a vast potential for use as an absorbent for disposable sanitary napkins.
Industrial Perspective
- In biomedical industries, chitosan is an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) for treating ulcers, chronic periodontitis, etc.
- The chitosan-based crosslinked systems are effective absorbents in sanitary napkins.
- Hydrogels of chitosan store excess water & are used in agriculture for the sustained release of water.
Questions about this Technology?
Contact for Licensing
Research Lab
Prof. Dhamodharan
Department of Chemistry
Intellectual Property
- IITM IDF No.: 1689
- IN Patent No.: 417294 (Granted)
Technology Readiness Level
TRL- 3
Proof of Concept ready & validated.