The present invention discloses a method for increasing absorbent capacity of a superabsorbent material (SAM) by treating the SAM with a selected multifunctional chemical agent (MCA) or a combination of a plurality of selected MCAs. The selected MCA(s) may interact with the polymer chain of the SAM through one or a plurality of mechanisms that enhance the absorbent capacity of the SAM. In various preferred embodiments, SAMs include polyelectrolytes that are made from polymerizing mixtures of acrylic acid monomer and acrylic acid sodium salt, and L-arginine or lysine is selected as the MCA.