Roughness Study of Hydroxypropyl Cellulose Film Surface Loaded with Cinnamaldehyde/Lauric Arginate by Atomic Force Microscopy

Abstract

In this work, atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique was used to study the microstructure properties of hydroxypropylcellulose/ cinnamaldehyde (CDH) composite biofilm. The solution was emulsified by cationic surfactant, lauric arginate (LAE). Zetasizer analysis found that the addition of CDH-emulsified LAE increased the zeta potential of HPC-based solution from -1.31 to 10.47 (mV). Furthermore, the increasing trend was showed by the roughness of surface properties. AFM analysis revealed that the arithmetical mean deviation from the mean (Ra) and root mean square deviation from the mean (Rq) of HPC film surface enhanced by 1.7 nm and 3.63 nm respectively as addition of CDH-emulsified LAE. Any deformation in the surface properties of the biofilm might affect its barrier properties such as water resistance and light transmission.