Immobilization of the proteins in the natural rubber with dialdehyde sodium alginate

The biodegradable dialdehyde sodium alginate (DASA) was exploited to immobilize the proteins in the natural rubber latex (NRL) and the variations of the properties for the NRL films were estimated in detail. As demonstrated, the proteins were distributed more uniformly in the NRL films with DASA and the extractable protein (EP) content was effectively decreased. Particularly, the EP content was lowered to a value about 46 mu g/g with 0.40% DASA, which could meet with the demands of the allergy protein threshold limit of 50 mu g/g as described in ASTM D 5712 standard. Furthermore, there was some improve on the burial degradability of the NRL films modified with DASA. The mechanical properties, however, had no evident variation in the presence of DASA. In conclusion, the immobilization of the proteins with DASA should be a potential alternative to tackle the protein allergy problem for the NRL and its products. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.