Preparation and study on miscibility, thermal behavior of biocompatible polymer blends of xanthan Gum-polyacrylamide

The biomedically important polymer blends, composed of natural polymer Xanthan gum and synthetic polymer Polyacrylamide have been prepared and miscibility studies were carried out by using various techniques over a range of composition in solution and solid states. Viscosity, Ultrasonic velocity and Density were measured at 30 and 40 °C. Using viscosity data, interaction parameters ‘μ’ and ‘α’ were computed to determine the miscibility of the blend in the solution state. These values revealed that, the blend is immiscible over entire composition range. Temperature had no significant effect on the miscibility. Ultrasonic velocity and density studies also confirmed the immiscibility of the blend. Solid films of the blends were analyzed by FTIR, SEM and DSC techniques and confirm the immiscible nature of the blend. TGA results showed that the thermal stability of Xanthan gum was found to be improved after blending with Polyacrylamide.