Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Science- Department of Organic Chemistry

The presented thesis deals with Maize starch-g-poly(N-vinylimidazole) and Maize starch-g-poly(itaconic acid) that were prepared and characterized by determining its degree of substitution and elucidating its structure by FTIR, NMR, X-ray diffraction and SEM before and after grafting. The effects of initiator concentration, monomer concentration, reaction time and temperature on the graft copolymerization were studied by determining the grafting percentage (%G), grafting efficiency (%GE) and the amount of homopolymer formed (%H). The efficacy of the graft copolymers to uptake heavy metal ions (Cu²⁺, Co²⁺ and Cd²⁺) from their aqueous solutions was also studied. Results showed that the graft copolymers adsorb more metal ions than starch itself. The graft copolymers were found to have antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus pneumonia and Bacillis subtilis as gram-positive and against Escherichia coli as gram-negative bacteria and against Aspergillus flavus and Candida albican as fungi

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