Effect of carboxymethylation on properties of SeaCell active fibers

This paper used chloroacetic acid to treat SeaCell active fibers.Carboxymethylated SeaCell active fibers with high absorbency were obtained by reacting the hydroxyl groups in the fibers with chloroacetic acid.The swelling ratios,silver releasing properties and antimicrobial properties of the fibers before and after treatment were studied.Experimental results showed that the carboxymethylation treatment can effectively increase the absorbency and gelling performances of the fibers,with the swelling ratio of the treated fibers over 10 times more than that of the untreated ones.Because the fibers after carboxymethylation treatment swell greatly when in contact with water,silver ions in the fibers can be released more easily.The experimental results indicated that the modified fibers have better antimicrobial performances than the untreated ones.