Abstract
The use of toxic crosslinking agents and reagents in the fabrication of hydrogels is a frequent issue which is particularly concerning for biomedical or food packaging applications. In this study, novel antibacterial bionanocomposite films were obtained through a simple solvent casting technique without using any crosslinking substance. Films were made from a flexible and transparent whey protein matrix containing zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesised via a wet chemical precipitation route. The physicochemical and functional properties of the ZnO nanoparticles and of the composite films were characterised, and their antibacterial activity was tested against S. epidermidis and E. coli. The synthesised ZnO nanoparticles had an average size of about 30 nm and a specific surface area of 49.5 m2/g. The swelling ratio of the bionanocomposite films increased at basic pH, which is an appealing feature in relation to the absorption of chronic wound exudate. A n-ZnO concentration-dependent antibacterial effect was observed for composite films. In particular, marked antibacterial activity was observed against S. epidermidis. Overall, these findings suggest that this novel material can be a promising and sustainable alternative in the design of advanced solutions for wound dressing or food packaging.
Highlights
Whey Protein Isolate (WPI) and Whey Protein Concentrate (WPC) powders were kindly supplied by Milei GmbH (Leutkirch im Allgäu, Germany)
FESEM images reported in Figure 1 show the n-zinc oxide (ZnO) sample, which appears in the form of micrometric irregular aggregates constituted of spherical primary nanoparticles with an average diameter of approximately 30 nm
This paper described a simple procedure to produce antibacterial bionanocomposite films using whey proteins and nanostructured zinc oxide
Summary
Toxic substances are generated from materials degradation [4] For applications such as wound dressing or food packaging, this is not acceptable, and novel non-toxic and biodegradable materials and processes are needed, as well as materials with smart and antimicrobial properties that can prevent wound infection or food spoiling [5,6,7,8]. This function is often achieved by combining hydrogel-based materials with antimicrobial agents, such as antibiotics. The synthesis of these nanostructured antimicrobials often requires the use of toxic solvents and reagents as well
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