Bio-based benzoxazine surfactant from amino acid

A novel bio-based benzoxazine (Ca-g) surfactant was synthesized via a Mannich reaction using renewable glycine and cardanol as raw materials. The structure of Ca-g was characterized by NMR, FT-IR, and elemental analysis. Styrene containing emulsions and polystyrene (PS) latex were prepared based on Ca-g surfactant. These results showed that Ca-g surfactant exhibited high efficiency for stabilizing styrene emulsions. An addition of only 1.7 (w/v)% stabilized the high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) with styrene volume fraction up to 90 %. More interestingly, HIPE exhibited a pH-sensitive property and could be formed at pH values from 9.0 to 12.0. Furthermore, polystyrene (PS) particles were obtained via HIPE polymerization. In addition, the in vitro cytotoxicity of Ca-g and its triglceride emulsion were also investigated. Ca-g showed lower cytotoxicity against the Hela cell line. A stable triglceride-in-water emulsion stabilized by Ca-g was prepared. The bio-based Ca-g surfactant may have potential use in cosmetics and daily cleaning products.