PERKHIDMATAN UTAMA

SISWAZAH

PEJABAT TIMBALAN NAIB CANSELOR

(AKADEMIK & ANTARABANGSA)
THESIS PROPOSAL

NAME : [Link]

ADDRESS : Rubber Researchers Quarters, Airforce Road, Nagoda,

Kalutara, Sri Lanka.

TELEPHONE NUMBER : +94342221811

EMAIL : prabhathks@[Link]

DEGREE : MASTER PHD Xx

PROGRAM : DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY – NANOTECHNOLOGY

I. Title

Write a tentative title for your thesis. It must be precise and concise. (Maximum 15
words)
Use of Nano Materials for Natural Rubber Latex (NRL) Preservation;
Nano particles of Silver, Titanium, Zinc

II. Problem or Hypothesis

State precisely and clearly what you intend to investigate. (Maximum 100 words)

Tetramethylthiuram disulfide/Zinc oxide (TMTD/ZnO) dispersion which is used as the

secondary preservative in natural rubber latex (NRL) preservation is caused to generate
carcinogenic nitrosamine. This is very harmful to human and the natural environment [1-2]
and it is a huge drawback for the rubber industry. Scientists have been conducted research
on this to find nitrosamine free preservative system for many years. However, still they
couldn’t find industry feasible solution for this issue. Therefore, In this research it is
expected to study the possibility of using some nano metal ions as preservatives for NRL
production because, some metal ions have shown their potential for antimicrobial action

1 Thesis Proposal – School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia

 with other materials such as pharmaceuticals, foodstuff, cosmetics etc. [3-6].

III. Review of Related Literature

Write a critical summary and an assessment of the current state of knowledge or current
state of the art in the intended area of investigation. (Maximum 500 words)
Natural rubber latex (NRL) is produced from the white sap obtained from trees of genus
Hevea brasiliensis. It is a colloidal dispersion of rubber particles in an aqueous medium,
containing mainly rubber particles (25 -35%) and non-rubbers (5.0 %) of carbohydrates,
protein, phospholipids, pigments, metal ions and water (55-60%). Microbial contamination
of NRL occurs within few hours after tapping and destabilize the latex to cause
coagulation. This process is called spontaneous coagulation and it is a non- desired process
because it renders further processing of latex [1].
Therefore, the latex preservation is an important and essential step in the manufacture of
NRL product industry to keep latex until the completion of its various form of productions
without coagulation and putrefaction.
There are two major reasons for spontaneous coagulation of NRL. First one is development
of the acidity through the interaction of micro-organisms with the various non-rubber
particles present in latex. The second one is to liberate fatty acid anions through the
hydrolysis of various lipid substances present in latex [1]. Therefore, preservatives should
destroy latex microorganisms or suppress their activity and growth in the latex. Also it
should enhance the colloidal stability, deactivate the trace metal ions and it should harmless
to human and rubber itself too.
Though the fresh field latex is coagulated within few hours, it is possible to keep three to
six months or even more with the correct preservation of NRL. Different chemicals have
been used for the preservation of latex for many years. Ammonia is the common primary
preservative used for a long time. TMTD/ZnO dispersion is used as the secondary
preservative However, this TMTD/ZnO dispersion is caused to generate carcinogenic
nitrosamine which is harmful to human and the natural environment [1-2].
In recent years significant number of studies have been carried out to find safer
preservative systems for NRL preservation and several approaches were established.
Hydrophobically modified saccharides, hydrophobically modified starch and a mixture
thereof were successfully studied by Booten K. et al. and they have obtained a European
Patent for their finding [2]. Recently a commercially available streptomycin sulphate and
surfactin which were biological substances successfully used to preserve latex by Aziana
A.H., et at. [7]. Another nitrosamine free preservative was introduced from chitosan
derivatives by Lokunant and et al [8]. However, industrially applying of those findings to
preserve latex are still in research stage.
While spreading the concept of nano technology in early 2000 to all areas of Science it
grabbed the Chemistry and biological fields strongly. Lots of innovations with
nanomaterials were published in those areas in last two decades. Metal nanoparticles are
increasingly used to target bacteria as an alternative to antibiotics in medical applications
and food preservations. A coating of Titanium dioxide nanoparticles has shown the
inhibition action for bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus epidermis, and E. coli and
prevents the occurrence of inflammation around the implants [13]. Nano silver has been known to
exhibit a strong toxicity to a wide range of microorganisms. Several successful studies on

2 Thesis Proposal – School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia

 silver nanoparticles have been done towards food preservation, pharmaceutical industry
and in the food packaging industry [3-6]. Though it has been used in the latex industry to
enhance some mechanical properties [9-12] there were no records found for using it as a
latex preservative for now.

IV. Procedure or Method

Briefly describe how you plan to investigate the problem you have identified. Your
description may consist of an outline of research techniques or procedures. (Maximum
500 words)
The proposed research is expected to conduct in the following steps.
 Literature Survey on latex preservation, synthesis of nano materials and use of
nano materials as antimicrobial agents.
 Planning the research activities
 Purchasing of necessary Chemicals, Glassware and finding a suitable place to
collect latex in the required date.
 Synthesis of metal nano particles as per the established methods and modify the
methods if it is needed.
 Preparation of a series of latex samples incorporating silver nano particles in
different ratios and preparation of the control sample similarly but excluding nano
materials. This step is repeated for other nano metal ions such as Titanium, Zinc.
 Test those prepared samples for the parameters such as VFA, Alkalinity, MST,
Coagulum content etc
 Analysis of the test results and compare with the control, general limits of the
specification
 Conduct extra experiments needed to fulfil some requirements arising with the
analysis for further clarification of results
 Interpretation of results and writing the thesis, preparing research articles for
journals (paper work).
 Finalizing the project, submitting the thesis and presentations

V. Selected Bibliography

List a representative sample (no more than 10) of the primary bibliographic sources you
plan to use in your thesis. Provide full citations for each source listed.
1. Blackley, D.C. 1997, Polymer Latices, 2nd edition, 2, p.24-131
2. Booten, K. Hashim, B.Y.A. and Singh, M. 2011, Natural Rubber Preservation, European
Patent Specifications EP2132231 B1
3. Li X. and Lenhart J.J. 2012, American Chemical Society, 46, 5378-5386
4. Morones, J.R., Elechiguerra, J.L., Camacho, A., Holt, K., Kouri, J.B., Ramirez, J.T. and
Yacaman, M.J. 2015, Nanotechnology, 16, 2346-2353

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5. Vimbela, G.V., Ngo, S.M., Fraze, C., Yang, L. and Stout, D.A., 2017, International
Journal of Nanomedicine, 12, 3941-3965
6. Wang, L., Hu, C. and Sho, L., 2017, International Journal of Nanomedicine, 12, 1227-
1249
7. Aziana, A.H., Amit-Hashim, M.Y. and Zuhainis, S.W., 2015, Journal of Rubber
Research, 18(2), 72-86
8. Loykulnant, S., Kongkaew, C., Chaikumpollert, O., Sanguanthammarong, P., Ubol, P.N.
and Suchira, K., 2011, Wiley Online Library, 913-921
9. Ghosh, N. S. O., Gayathri, S., Sundhakara, P., Misra, S.K. and Jayaramdidu, J., 2017,
Rubber Nano Blends, 15-62
10. Guidelli, E.J., Ramos, A.P., Zaniquelli, M.E.D. and Boffa, O., 2011, Spectrochemica Acta
Part A, 82, 140-145
11. Tao, J., He, D., Tang, B., Kong, L., Luo, Y., Zhao, P., Gong, W. and Peng, Z., 2015, RSC
Advances, 5, 49168-49174
12. Ratnayake, I., Ismail, H., Azahari, B., Darsanasiri N.D. and Rajapakshe, S., 2012,
Polymer-Plastic Technology and Engineering, 51, 605-611
13. Ragunath, A. and Perumal, E., 2017, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, 01-16

SIGNATURE : _________________________

DATE : ________________________

4 Thesis Proposal – School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia