A Quality by Design Approach for the Systematic Screening and Optimization of Glucose-Based Polyurethane Foams

Sugar-based polyurethane (PU) foams represent an important advancement in structured materials offering a more sustainable alternative to traditional PU foams derived from petro-based polyols. These PU foams can hold particular importance in fields such as construction, packaging, biomedical materials, and medical devices. Hitherto, the development relies on a trial-and-error basis or, at most, by changing one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT). Unfortunately, these methods are inefficient and prone to miss the intended goals. In this study, we apply a Quality by Design (QbD) strategy, integrating systematic experimental design and data-driven approaches, to optimize sugar-based PU foam formulations for integration into a pathogen-monitoring device and identify key factors affecting their properties. The effects of surfactant, water, catalyst, chain extender, and isocyanate concentrations were evaluated using statistical design of experiments (DoE), and the amount of water was identified as the most influential factor. An optimized formulation was obtained with 0.58% (w/w) water, 5.69% (w/w) surfactant, and 34.26% (w/w) toluene diisocyanate (TDI), with butanediol excluded due to its minor impact on foam’s performance and the water being the most impactful factor. This optimized formulation was synthesized and validated with the final material being able to absorb liquids, support capillary flow, and maintain physical integrity and glucose content. This approach enabled the tailored development of sugar-based PU foams to meet the specific application requirements.