Biodegradability, physical, mechanical and antimicrobial attributes of starch nanocomposites containing chitosan nanoparticles
Abstract
This study aimed to develop a plasticized starch (PS) based film loaded with chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs, 1, 2, 3, and 4%) as a reinforcing and antibacterial agent. We examined the morphology, biodegradability, mechanical, thermo-mechanical, and barrier properties of the PS/CNPs films. The antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive (S. aureus) and Gram-negative (E. coli) bacteria was investigated by colony forming unit (CFU) and disc diffusion methods. A dense structure was obtained for all PS/CNPs films and, thus, their complete biodegradation occurred in more days than neat PS. The increase in the CNPs percentage led to improved mechanical behaviour and barrier properties. PS-CNPs composite films revealed inhibition zones against both E. coli and S. aureus, with the 100% reduction in CFU against S. aureus. The current study exhibited that PS-CNPs films were more effective in inhibiting bacteria growth than neat PS film, confirming the composite films potential application as antimicrobial food packaging.
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-15-2022
Volume
195
Publication Title
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Publisher
Elsevier
School
School of Engineering
RAS ID
51838
Copyright
subscription content
First Page
49
Last Page
58
Comments
Babaee, M., Garavand, F., Rehman, A., Jafarazadeh, S., Amini, E., & Cacciotti, I. (2022). Biodegradability, physical, mechanical and antimicrobial attributes of starch nanocomposites containing chitosan nanoparticles. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 195, 49-58.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.11.162