Controlling wettability of hydrophobic materials is very important in a variety of applications, including textiles, membranes, etc. In this work, the enhancement of wettability of hydrophobic polypropylene nonwovens was studied by physical adsorption of soybean proteins. Adsorption from aqueous solutions (PBS, pH 7.4, 25 �C) on polypropylene and nylon 6 thin films was studied by using Quartz Crystal Microbalance and Surface Plasmon Resonance. A higher adsorbed mass was measured on the polypropylene surfaces compared to nylon 6, which highlights the role of hydrophobic interactions in the adsorption process. Nonwoven substrates were immersed into 1 mg/ml protein solutions at native (25 �C) and denatured condition (95 �C). The change in contact angle from 118� to completely wettable surfaces (0�) indicate a significant improvement in surface wettability. Wicking tests with ultrapure water indicate that after protein adsorption at native or denatured conditions the hydrophobic nonwoven are able to absorb water from 14 to 18 times their weight.

Surface modification of hydrophobic substrates by soy protein adsorption

245th National Meeting (2013)

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