PRODUÇÃO DE MEMBRANAS DE ALGINATO E MESOCARPO DE COCO BABAÇU COM ADIÇÃO DE FIBRAS DE SISAL E LÃ DE ALGODÃO: ESTUDO DE DIFERENTES VARIÁVEIS.

Due to its material properties and specific features, the alginate has been used in several segments, with medical applications, pharmaceuticals, food, among others. On the other hand, the babassu mesocarp flour has presented several applications in hospital treatments, besides possessing anti-inflammatory properties and to being used in obesity treatments. The objective of this work was the development of alginate and babassu coconut mesocarp (BCM) membranes, containing cotton yarns and sisal fibers in their composition for future applications directed to the treatment of burns and skin infections. Two formulations for two crosslinking systems were utilized, combining different proportions of materials and evaluating the membranes produced according to their moisture content, solubility, thickness, water vapor permeability, mechanical properties, infrared and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed a direct correlation between the composition of the membrane and each physical property, providing membranes with unique mechanical characteristics. The 1st formulation responded better to the solubility and WVTR tests, due to a larger number of membranes responding as expected in the literature while in the 2nd formulation the results were more satisfactory for moisture and thickness tests. The results for the infrared and SEM showed the expected behavior in the literature for alginate and mesocarp membranes of babassu coconut.