New thickening agents based on tamarind seed gum and karaya gum polysaccharides

Wool, silk and nylon-6 fabric samples were printed with reactive dyes using new thickening agents based on polymerisation adducts of acrylic acid (AA) with tamarind seed gum (TG), or karaya gum (KG) in comparison with the conventional guar gum (GG) thickener. The obtained data indicate that: (i) the printing efficiency is governed by the performance of the thickening agents, i.e. PAA/TG2 > PAA/TG1 > PAA/KG1 > PAA/KG2 > GG, as well as the nature of substrate, i.e. wool > nylon-6 > silk, (ii) the K/S values and fastness properties of the printed fabrics are determined by the type of reactive dye, and (iii) optimal printing properties, i.e. higher depth along with better fastness ratings, were achieved by using a printing paste containing PAA/TG2 (7.5%, w/w); reactive dye (30 g/kg); urea (50 g/kg); and citric acid (10 g/kg), followed by drying at 85 °C for 5 min, and steaming at 105 °C for 30 min.