scholarly journals Pullulan–Apple Fiber Biocomposite Films: Optical, Mechanical, Barrier, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Properties

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 870
Author(s):  
Ângelo Luís ◽  
Ana Ramos ◽  
Fernanda Domingues

More than 150 million tons of synthetic plastics are produced worldwide from petrochemical-based materials, many of these plastics being used to produce single-use consumer products like food packaging. The main goal of this work was to research the production and characterization of pullulan–apple fiber biocomposite films as a new food packaging material. The optical, mechanical, and barrier properties of the developed biocomposite films were evaluated. Furthermore, the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the biocomposite films were additionally studied. The results show that the Tensile Index and Elastic Modulus of the pullulan–apple fiber films were significantly higher (p-value < 0.05) when compared to the pullulan films. Regarding the water vapor permeability, no significant differences (p-value < 0.05) were observed in water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) when the apple fiber was incorporated into the biocomposite films. A significant increase (p-value < 0.05) of water contact angle in both sides of the films was observed when the apple fiber was incorporated into pullulan, indicating an increase in the hydrophobicity of the developed biocomposite films. It is worth noting the hydrophobicity of the (rough) upper side of the pullulan–apple fiber films, which present a water contact angle of 109.75°. It was possible to verify the microbial growth inhibition around the pullulan–apple fiber films for all the tested bacteria.

Coatings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiyi Feng ◽  
Feng Zhang ◽  
Saeed Ahmed ◽  
Yaowen Liu

In this study, PLA/TiO2 composites materials were prepared via electrospinning and solution casting processes. By testing the mechanical properties, water contact angle, water vapor permeability, and solubility of the composite nanofibers and films, the comprehensive performances of the two types of nanocomposites were analyzed. The results show that maximum tensile strengths of 2.71 ± 0.11 MPa and 14.49 ± 0.13 MPa were achieved for the nanofibers and films at a TiO2 content of 0.75 wt.%. Moreover, the addition of TiO2 significantly cut down the water vapor transmittance rate of the nanofibers and films while significantly improving the water solubility. Further, the antibacterial activity increased under UV-A irradiation for a TiO2 nanoparticle content of 0.75 wt.%, and the nanofiber and films exhibited inhibition zones of 4.86 ± 0.50 and 3.69 ± 0.40 mm for E. coli, and 5.98 ± 0.77 and 4.63 ± 0.45 mm for S. aureus, respectively. Overall, the performance of the nanofiber was better than that of the film. Nevertheless, both the nanocomposite membranes satisfied the requirements of food packaging materials.


Coatings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 481
Author(s):  
Chen ◽  
Yi ◽  
Wu ◽  
Tan ◽  
Xu ◽  
...  

The novel phenylenedisilane, 1,4-bis(dimethoxyphenylsilyl)benzene (BDMPD), was successfully synthesized via the reaction between trimethoxyphenylsilane (TMPS) and a Grignard reagent originating from 1,4-dibromobenzene. In comparison to common Grignard reactions, this process was a facile one-pot method. 1H NMR spectroscopy, FT-IR measurements, and elemental analysis confirmed the predicted structure of BDMPD. In addition, vinyl-terminated polysiloxanes containing silphenylene units (VPSSP), which were hydrolytically copolymerized from BDMPD, TMPS, and divinyltetramethyldisiloxane, exhibited excellent thermal stabilities (T10%: 502 °C, Rw%: 76.86 beyond 700 °C) and suitable refractive indices (1.542). Furthermore, water contact angle and water vapor permeability tests confirmed that the fully cured siloxane resins containing VPSSP-based silphenylene units exhibited strong hydrophobicity (water contact angle: 119°) and superior water vapor barrier properties, thereby indicating their potential to serve as strong waterproof coatings for moisture-proof applications or as adhesives for use in immersed equipment.


Khazanah ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadya Fitriani Pitaloka ◽  
◽  
Ardilla Sriwijayanti ◽  
Santi Anisa ◽  
Irne Dyah Ayu Wijayanti ◽  
...  

Food packaging materials derived from fossil fuels are single-use products that harm the health of living things when disposed of by releasing toxic byproducts. Many communities are starting to be more environmentally friendly by using biopolymers. However, some biopolymers do not have antibacterial properties, thus shortening the food’s shelf life and not applicable in food packaging. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to develop a biodegradable and antimicrobial food packaging from sugarcane bagasse and clay that degrades over time without compromising the food’s shelf life. Cellulose acetate butyrate (cab) was prepared in an amimcl ionic liquid system from sugarcane bagasse. Then the cab was plasticized using peg, resulting a film. Besides, montmorillonite (mmt) clay was modified with aryl ammonium cations using a cation exchange technique to form bmmt. The nanocomposite film was prepared by mixing the plasticized cab and bmmt, then heated at 50c to evaporate the solution. The nanocomposite film was obtained as a prototype of food packaging. Several tests were conducted including mechanical properties, water vapor permeability (wvp), antimicrobial and toxicity test. Based on research by saha et.al, 2008, the nanocomposite film with the cag, peg and bmmt 100:20:3 composition gave the best mechanical properties because of the agglomeration of bmmt. Also, the nanocomposite film had promising wvp properties as a plastic because the clay layers reduced the water vapor diffusion across the polymer matrix. The toxicity test showed that this nanocomposite film was compatible in human blood. Lastly, this nanocomposite film has antibacterial activity against b. Subtilis and p. Cepacia because of the bmmt presence. In conclusion, the nanocomposite film from sugarcane bagasse and clay containing cag, peg and bmmt 100:20:3 is a promising material for a biodegradable and antimicrobial food packaging, because it has sufficient mechanical properties, antibacterial activity, low wvp and is non-toxic.


2020 ◽  
pp. 152808372093419
Author(s):  
Mohammed Awad Abedalwafa ◽  
Huiru Zhang ◽  
Qianqian Mei ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Fujun Wang

In this paper, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) were prepared by electrospinning technology. Copper (Cu) or/and zinc (Zn) nanoparticles (NPs) were deposited on the surface of PAN NFMs by spark ablation technology to fabricate a surface structure with antibacterial and hydrophobic properties. The deposition of NPs was controlled using current, voltage, carrier gas flow rate, and load time. The fabricated NFMs were characterized by FE-SEM, EDX, XRD, and water contact angle. Moreover, the antibacterial properties of the fabricated NFMs were studied using the agar-diffusion test method. The results showed that Cu, or/and Zn NPs successfully deposited on the surface of PAN NFMs, which improved the hydrophobicity by increasing the water contact angle from 46° to 128°, 130°, and 136°, respectively. Besides, the Zn@PAN NFMs sample was showed good antibacterial property against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial strains. Overall, the NPs@PAN NFMs based spark ablation technology might afford an easy-to-operated design pattern for constructing potential materials for water treatment applications.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 790
Author(s):  
Norhan Nady ◽  
Noha Salem ◽  
Sherif. H. Kandil

In this work, a novel polymeric membrane was innovated in terms of composition and preparation techniques. A blend of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PcH) and poly(ethersulfone) (PES) (18 wt.% total polymer concentration) was prepared using a N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) and N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) solvents mixture, while Lithium chloride (0.05–0.5 wt.%) was used as an additive. The electrospinning and phase inversion techniques were used together to obtain a novel membrane structure. The prepared membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscope imaging, energy dispersive X-Ray, differential scanning calorimeter, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflectance analyses. Moreover, the static water contact angle, membrane thickness, porosity, surface roughness as well as water vapor permeability were determined. ImageJ software was used to estimate the average fiber diameter. Additionally, the effect of the change of PcH concentration and coagulation bath temperature on the properties of the fabricated membrane was studied. The novel developed membrane has shown a good efficiency in terms of properties and features, as a membrane suitable for membrane distillation (MD); a high porosity (84.4% ± 0.6), hydrophobic surface (136.39° ± 3.1 static water contact angle), and a water vapor permeability of around 4.37 × 10−5 g·m/m2·day·Pa were obtained. The prepared membrane can be compared to the MD membranes commercially available in terms of properties and economic value.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1637
Author(s):  
Shiyuan Fang ◽  
Weiqiang Qiu ◽  
Jun Mei ◽  
Jing Xie

Carvacrol is a natural compound known to be a highly effective antibacterial; however, it is a hydrophobic molecule, which is a limitation to its use within food packaging. Flaxseed gum (FG) films containing different contents of carvacrol (C) were produced by a film-casting method with sonication. The effects of sonication power and time on the properties of the FG-C films were investigated by measuring the film thickness, mechanical properties, contact angle, opacity, water vapor permeability (WVP), water sorption isotherm, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), antibacterial and antioxidant activities, and microstructure. The results showed that sonication power and time had significant effects on mechanical and barrier properties, film opacity, and degradability (p < 0.05). The tensile strength (TS) and elongation at break (EB) values exhibited an obvious improvement after sonication, and FG-0.5C-6030 had the lowest TS (33.40 MPa) and EB (4.46%) values. FG-C films formed a denser structure and the contact angle was improved as a result of sonication, which improved the integration of carvacrol into the FG matrix. In terms of microstructure, sonication resulted in a homogeneous and continuous crosssection of FG-C films, and regular surface and cross-sectional images were obtained through the highest acoustic intensity and longest time treatment. The FG films incorporated with carvacrol displayed antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Shewanella putrefaciens, and Pseudomonas fluorescens, as well as increased antioxidant properties, and sonication was proven to enhance both of them.


2019 ◽  
Vol 89 (19-20) ◽  
pp. 4015-4027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung Yoon Kim ◽  
Changsang Yun ◽  
Chung Hee Park

This study aims to develop environment-friendly superhydrophobic textiles forming nanoparticles of polypropylene that have intrinsically low surface energy, and thus achieving the requirements for superhydrophobicity, such as hierarchical roughness and low surface energy at once. This work mainly studies the influences of tacticity (isotactic, atactic), concentration (10, 20, 30 and 40 mg/ml), drying temperature (30℃ and 70℃) and the mixing ratio of the solvent/non-solvent (9:1, 8:2, 7:3 and 6:4) on the coating morphology and wettability. In the case of isotactic polypropylene, the optimal condition showing the water contact angle of 173° and the water shedding angle of 4° was at 70℃ drying temperature, 30 mg/ml concentration and 6:4 solvent/non-solvent mixing ratio. Amorphous polypropylene showed the water contact angle of 163° and the water shedding angle of 9° at the condition of 30℃ drying temperature, 40 mg/ml concentration and 8:2 solvent/non-solvent mixing ratio. It was revealed that superhydrophobicity by amorphous polypropylene was exhibited at lower drying temperature and lower mixing ratio for the non-solvent. This is attributed to the different evaporation temperature or speed of the solvent/non-solvent mixing according to the tacticity of polypropylene. This study demonstrated that environmental-friendliness was improved in that superhydrophobic textiles were developed without fluorine compounds, maintaining vapor permeability. This study also developed a finishing method using amorphous polypropylene under a mild condition in terms of drying temperature and solvent toxicity, which is expected to be applicable not only to polyester but also to various fabrics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luís ◽  
Domingues ◽  
Ramos

Hydrophobic zein-based functional films incorporating licorice essential oil were successfully developed as new alternative materials for food packaging. The lotus-leaf negative template was obtained using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The complex surface patterns of the lotus leaves were transferred onto the surface of the zein-based films with high fidelity (positive replica), which validates the proposed proof-of-concept. The films were prepared by casting method and fully characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The grammage, thickness, contact angle, mechanical, optical and barrier properties of the films were measured, together with the evaluation of their biodegradability, antioxidant and antibacterial activities against common foodborne pathogens (Enterococcus faecalis and Listeria monocytogenes). The zein-based films with the incorporation of licorice essential oil presented the typical rugosities of the lotus leaf making the surfaces very hydrophobic (water contact angle of 112.50°). In addition to having antioxidant and antibacterial properties, the films also shown to be biodegradable, making them a strong alternative to the traditional plastics used in food packaging.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1021 ◽  
pp. 280-289
Author(s):  
Abdulkader M. Alakrach ◽  
Awad A. Al-Rashdi ◽  
Mohamed Khalid Al-Omar ◽  
Taha M. Jassam ◽  
Sam Sung Ting ◽  
...  

In this study, PLA/TiO2 and PLA/HNTs-TiO2 nanocomposites films were fabricated via solution casting method. By testing the film density, solubility, water contact angle and water vapor permeability, the PLA nanocomposite films, the comprehensive performances of the nanocomposites were analysed. The outcomes demonstrated that maximum film density of PLA/TiO2 and PLA/HNTs-TiO2 nanocomposites films increased gradually with the increasing of nanofiller loadings. Moreover, the incorporation of TiO2 and HNTs-TiO2 significantly decreased the water vapor transmittance rate of the nanocomposite films with a slight priority to the addition of HNTs-TiO2, the water solubility was significantly improved with the addition of both nanofillers. Furthermore, the barrier properties were developed with the addition of both TiO2 and HNTs-TiO2 especially after the addition of low nanofiller loadings. Overall, the performance of the PLA/HNTs-TiO2 nanocomposite films was better than that PLA/TiO2 film. Nevertheless, both of the PLA nanocomposite samples achieved the requests of food packaging applications.


2014 ◽  
Vol 971-973 ◽  
pp. 81-84
Author(s):  
Yan Wu ◽  
Chun Sheng Chen ◽  
Yu Yue Qin ◽  
Jian Xin Cao

A novel antimicrobial poly (lactide) (PLA) film incorporated with clove essential oil (0, 2%, 4%, and 6% (w/v)) was developed. The mechanical property, water vapor permeability, color, contact angle, and antimicrobial activity of the films were investigated. The flexibility of films was improved by incorporation with clove. The water vapor permeability slightly increased with clove content. PLA film containing clove showed better antimicrobial activity compared to pure PLA film. The results suggested that PLA/clove blends could be a novel composite film for food packaging applications.


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