Synthesis of urushiol-based antimicrobial material by emulsion polymerization

Abstract

Urushiol is a main component of lacquer sap, and has useful properties such as good durability, thermal stability, and antimicrobial activity. Since lacquer sap causes skin allergy, it is necessary to polymerize urushiol monomer in order to use it as an antimicrobial material. Conventional method of polymerizing urushiol is making film-type urushiol polymer through laccase catalytic reaction. This method requires a grinding process to make polymerized urushiol film into powder. In this study, we developed emulsion polymerization method to produce urushiol powder without grinding process. The particle size of urushiol powder could be controlled by introducing emulsion polymerization. The particle size was monitored under different operational condition such as HLB value of surfactant, surfactant concentration, and agitation speed. Experimental investigations showed that the particle size decreased with increasing HLB value of surfactant, surfactant concentration, and agitation speed. The monodispersed urushiol powder was obtained at a stirring rate above 12,000 rpm, showing the minimum size of 63.2 ± 8.6 μm.