IIT researchers develop safer material for sanitary napkins

Suresh Dharur

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, September 24

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad, has developed cellulose-based nanofibre for use in sanitary napkins to make these safer than the commercially available ones.

The research team, led by Chandra Shekhar Sharma from the Department of Chemical Engineering, used nanotechnology to produce cellulose-based nanofibre for use as absorbent core in sanitary napkins. They chose cellulose acetate biopolymer and subjected it to electro-spinning to synthesise fibre of nanoscale size.

The advantage of this material is that it will give sanitary napkins greater absorption capacity than the commercially available ones and can be safely disposed off because of their biodegradable nature.

Most of the commercially available napkins in the market use cellulose fibre to increase their absorption capacity. But the lower surface area of the fibre limits the absorption capacity. In order to enhance the absorption capacity, some brands use superabsorbent polymers (cross-linked sodium polyacrylate gels). However, there are some harmful chemicals present in the sanitary napkins like Superabsorbent Polymers (SAP) that are petroleum-based products and do not degrade readily in landfills and are also not eco-friendly.

The material developed by IIT researchers will help eliminate the use of harmful, non-biodegradable SAP without compromising on the performance and comfort.

“Nanofibers based feminine hygiene products (without SAP) provide a safe alternative to female hygiene as we know that prolonged use of commercially available products may even lead to toxic shock syndrome and ovarian cancer,” Prof Sharma said. The main focus of this work is to minimise the use of SAPs in feminine hygiene products considering their possible adverse health effects. “For this, we intend to fabricate cellulose-based nanofibers and suggest their use as absorbent core in feminine hygiene products,” he said.

“The menstrual hygiene is an important issue for every woman, as poor menstrual hygiene increases the vulnerability towards reproductive tract infections. Among the different types of feminine hygiene products that are commercially available, sanitary napkins are the most common and disposable absorbent hygiene product,” a statement from IIT-H said.