Abstract

Abstract: Biopolymers from sterilizer condensate (BSC) and decanter effluent (BDE) of palm oil mill were recovered and characterized compared to the biopolymer from commercial xylan (BCX) prior to hydrogel production. They contained 83–90% hemicellulose with 67–79% xylose. They were water soluble and had two sizes (large and small) of molecular weight with polydispersity about 1.7 except BDE-S (1.04). The functional groups (by FT-IR) of the BSC and BDE were comparable with those of BCX. Biological activity of the BSC and BDE revealed that they were inactive on antimicrobial test, anti-cancer test and non-cytotoxicity but only BSC exhibited cytotoxicity against human hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) ATCC HB-8065. All biopolymers were used for preparation of hydrogels by modified with maleic anhydride (MA), then blended with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at various ratios. The optimum formula (F) giving the maximum swelling degree and/or tensile strength for BSC-, BDE- and BCX- hydrogel were F11, F17 and F35, respectively. These three selected complex hydrogels possessed cytotoxicity activity against normal cells but only the BDE- and BCX-hydrogels (F17 and F35) exhibited antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538. Therefore, the biopolymer (BSC) and the complex hydrogels (from BSC and BDE) had a potential for biomedical application. Graphic Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].