Synthesis, Characterization and Biocompatibility of Cross-linked Dicarboxylic Acids from Waste Potato Peel Starch

People have become conscious about recycling or reusing many things they use in the 21st century because diminishing vital resources make it necessary, both personally and socially. The evaluation of waste is also critical in terms of national economies. In this study, starch dicarboxylic compounds were synthesized using waste potato peels (WPP) in the presence of sodium hypophosphite monohydrate as a catalyst for the formation of the ester cross-links. Adipic acid, succinic acid, and glutaric acid were employed with waste potato starch (WPS) to obtain cross-linked samples: WPS-A, WPS-S, and WPS-G, respectively. The obtained compounds were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (FTIR-ATR), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and their cytotoxicity properties were investigated. The biocompatibility of the obtained WPS-dicarboxylic acid compounds against NIH-3T3 and L929 murine fibroblast cells with MTT assay was determined. Studies have shown that these compounds do not harm healthy cells and are found to be bioavailable.