Cellulose fabrics were esterified by using varying volume of Balanites aegyptiaca seed oil. X-ray diffraction analysis was carried on the esterified fabrics and unesterified fabric. The crystallographs of all esterified fabrics gave almost the same profile different from that of control fabric. The control fabric gave a sharp single peak at 24.033º diffractometer angle. Esterified fabrics gave a slightly broad split peaks at lower diffractometer angles which ranged from 20.080 -22.690º, suggesting that there was structural modification of cellulose. The inter-atomic distance (d-spacing) for control fabric was 3.7027 Å. There was increase in d-spacing which ranged from 3.9192 -4.4216 Å for esterified fabric. The peak width increased from 1.5º (control) to range of 1.6 -2.8º (esterified) fabrics. The peaks intensity increased from 5489 (control) to highest value (7798) for 30 cm 3 of oil esterified fabric. The crystallite size reduced from 9.9 nm (control) to a maximum value (9.2 nm) for CSIJ, 19(2): 1-11, 2017; Article no.CSIJ.32686 2 40 cm 3 and to minimum value (5.3 nm) for 10 cm 3 oil esterified fabrics. The percentage crystallinity reduced from 65% (control) to a range of 62-63% for esterified fabrics. From the results obtained, it can be concluded that reduction in crystallite size, increase in d-spacing, intensity and peak width were due to the presence of a bulky ester group in the cellulose chain; this may also have led to the observed decrease in percentage crystallinity of the esterified fabrics. This structural modification is expected to have direct consequences on the physical and mechanical properties as well as the dyeing properties of the esterified fabrics. Original Research Article

This paper presents the results of x-ray diffraction of a cellulose fabric treated with oils extracted from the seed of Jatropha curcas; the oils were extracted with hexane under reflux while the fabric was purified by scouring, bleaching and mercerization to remove dirt and coloring matter in order to make it suitable for esterification. Apart from the controlled sample which was un-esterified, other samples of the same fabric were treated with different volume and concentration of the oil under the same temperature. The x-ray diffraction analysis carried out on all samples showed that while the control sample had a sharp single peak at 24.033° all the esterified samples showed broad split Original Research Article 3 of oil. Crystallinity was observed to reduce from 65% in the control to about 63% for esterified fabrics samples and lastly, crystallite size reduced from 9.9 nm to between 5.3 nm to 7.7 nm. The observed structural modifications in treated fabric may have direct influence on the physical, mechanical properties as well as dye-ability of the treated samples. The result of water Imbibition also revealed structural modification as there was a decrease in the amount of water imbibed by esterified fabric, indicating a reduction in the number of OH groups in the new cellulose derivative as revealed in the x-ray analysis. Hence the esterified fabric will be less susceptible to microbial attack during storage.

Background: Toothpaste is a cosmetic product with increasing relevance and demand. However most commercial toothpaste consist of complex chemicals whose health safety remain unclear.Objectives: The present work involves the formulation, and comparative physicochemical evaluation and antimicrobial activity of green toothpaste and three commercial toothpastes (Close-Up, Oral-B and Dabur-Herbal)Methods: The green toothpaste were formulated using Tumeric (Curcuma longa), Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis miller), Guava (Psidium guajava), Mint (Mentha piperita), Neem (Azadirachta indica), and Lemon (Citrus lemon) as the active ingredients and comparatively evaluated for various properties like colour, taste, odor, texture, abrasivity, spreadability, cleansing ability, foaming ability, stability, homogeneity, moisture content, gritty matter and pH. The antimicrobial activity of the formula was comparatively tested on Streptococcus mutans (the major causative organism of dental caries).Results: Cold extracts of plant materials with ethanol showed a relative low (3.6% - 6.8%) percentage recovery of bioactive compounds. Physico-chemical tests revealed that the spreadability, pH, foam, gritty matter and homogeneity gave favourable results that compares well with commercial ones. The result of the antimicrobial test shows significant difference between the mean zones of inhibition of the various toothpastes.Conclusion: The results of the study agree with traditional application of the herbaceous plants and showed that the formulated toothpaste contains phytochemicals which possess antimicrobial properties and may be safer compared to toothpaste consisting of synthetic chemicals. 

In this research, a structural modification for a cellulose/polyester blend has been carried out using NH4OH, (NH4)2C2O4 and liquid NH3 which are environmentally friendly alternative scouring agents with NaOH as control. The scouring process was carried out on the samples with these alternative agents. Investigation into structural modification of cellulose/polyester blend fabric using NH4OH, (NH4)2C2O4 and liquid NH3 and its structural characterization with X-ray diffraction was carried. The results showed the inferences variation in the crystallinity index of scoured samples from (3.21-65.30%), the crystallite size of scoured samples (1.9-15 nm) in the crystalline region and (7-20 nm) in the amorphous region, inter-planar spacing of the scoured samples (0.340-0.350 nm) of the crystalline region and (0.350-0.340 nm) of the amorphous region and number of crystalline planes of the scoured samples is (3-11) of the cellulose/polyester blend fabric samples via X-ray diffraction studies. Among these alternative agents (NH4)2C2O4 and NH4OH showed better interaction with both amorphous and crystalline regions of the cellulose/polyester blend fabric samples without loss in crystallinity when used as scouring agents, and the possibilities of being a superior alternative with significant effect on the structures of the cellulose/polyester blend, while the other samples showed possibilities of being highly competitive with the conventional agent.