Abstract
Antibacterial sugar palm starch biopolymer composite films were developed and derived from renewable sources and inorganic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as main ingredients for antibacterial coatings. The composite films were produced by solution casting method and the mechanical and physicochemical properties were determined by tensile test, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), antibacterial screening test and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images. It was found that mechanical and antibacterial properties of biocomposite films were improved after the addition of AgNPs compared with the film without active metals. The weakness of neat biocomposite films was improved by incorporating inorganic AgNPs as a nanofiller in the films’ matrix to avoid bacterial growth. The results showed that the tensile strength ranged between 8 kPa and 408 kPa and the elasticity modulus was between 5.72 kPa and 9.86 kPa. The addition of AgNPs in FTIR analysis decreased the transmittance value, caused small changes in the chemical structure, caused small differences in the intensity peaks, and produced longer wavelengths. These active films increased the degradation weight and decomposition temperature due to the more heat-stable AgNPs. Meanwhile, the average inhibited areas measured were between 7.66 and 7.83 mm (Escherichia coli), 7.5 and 8.0 mm (Salmonella cholerasuis), and 0.1 and 0.5 mm for Staphylococcus aureus. From the microscopic analysis, it was observed that the average size of all microbes for 1 wt% and 4 wt% AgNPs ranged from 0.57 to 2.90 mm. Overall, 3 wt% AgNP nanofiller was found to be the best composition that fulfilled all the mechanical properties and had better antimicrobial properties. Thus, the development of an organic-inorganic hybrid of antibacterial biopolymer composite films is suitable for antibacterial coatings.
Highlights
The microbial contamination of food is one of the main problems in the food industry; considering the waste of spoiled products and the implications for public health, the production of active packaging would be beneficial for both issues [1,2,3,4,5]
Active packaging with antibacterial properties has been developed in food packaging, especially with the addition of nanosilver, which might increase the quality of the product and its shelf life, and prevent spoilage caused by bacterial action
Sugar palm starch has been extensively used to produce bio-based starch films, and the results show that these carbohydrates are promising materials in this regard [12,13,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24]
Summary
The microbial contamination of food is one of the main problems in the food industry; considering the waste of spoiled products and the implications for public health, the production of active packaging would be beneficial for both issues [1,2,3,4,5]. Environmentally friendly food packaging with good antimicrobial and barrier properties is seen to be the solution to reduce environmental problems, extend shelf life, and improve the food storage environment [6]. Organic-inorganic hybrid material is normally used in the production of multiple packaging plastic applications for improvements in their properties. The applications of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in antibacterial coating have been widely used to avoid the build-up of pathogenic bacteria and spoilage fungi. It has been suggested that AgNPs possess antibacterial properties against various microorganisms, such as Gram-negative. Active packaging with antibacterial properties has been developed in food packaging, especially with the addition of nanosilver, which might increase the quality of the product and its shelf life, and prevent spoilage caused by bacterial action.
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