Abstract

The use of renewable resource is a strategic opportunity to meet growing demands of eco-friendly materials. The present study reports the synthesis of castor-oil-based polyurethane (COPU), and its nanocomposites with CoFe2O4 and AgFeO2 via sonication technique. Formation of the nanocomposite was confirmed by IR analysis while UV-visible studies revealed encapsulation of the ferrite particles by COPU. The interaction between COPU, AgFeO2, CoFe2O4, and their nanocomposites with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was also investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy which revealed static quenching of BSA through complex formation. The quenching rate for COPU was determined to be 1.98x10(4)LM(-1) while for pure CoFe2O4 and AgFeO2, it was found to be 3x10(4)LM(-1) and 3.2x10(4)LM(-1), respectively. The interaction of BSA particularly with silver and cobalt ferrite nanoparticles within COPU matrix was found to be promising. It was found that by controlling the loading of ferrite in COPU matrix, desired binding could be achieved. [GRAPHICS] .