Artificial food dyes are commonly found in everyday products from chips and candy to medicines. One of the most common types is azo dyes, named after the azo group in their chemical structure. Studies have shown that these dyes may pose several health risks such as cancer, allergic reactions, and DNA damage. Due to these concerns, there is growing interest in developing in vivo methods to remove these dyes from the body. This research explores the use of temperature responsive polymers, prepared by copolymerizing poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)-based polymers with cationic and hydrophobic comonomers, as potential enterosorbents for dye remediation along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The comonomers used during synthesis were diallyldimethylammonium chloride (DADMAC), the cationic comonomer, and styrene, the hydrophobic comonomer. H NMR was used to quantify comonomer incorporation in the synthesized polymers relative to the monomer feed ratios, UV-Vis was used to determine the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the polymers, and Red 40 and Yellow 5 dye removal was assessed with a microplate reader. The LCST of the polymers ranged from 35°C-37°C. Results from the microplate reader showed that incorporation of DADMAC enhanced dye removal. Increasing the DADMAC in polymer and increasing the polymer dose both resulted in greater removal of Red 40 and Yellow 5.
