Light-Responsive Nanocapsule-Coated Polymer Films for Antimicrobial Active Packaging

The development of antimicrobial active packaging constitutes a powerful tool to reduce waste and increase quality standards of perishable goods. Among numerous available antimicrobial agents, essential oils stand out for their renowned efficiency, and their use is beneficial due to their sustainabi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymers 2019-01, Vol.11 (1), p.68
Main Authors: Marturano, Valentina, Bizzarro, Valentina, Ambrogi, Veronica, Cutignano, Adele, Tommonaro, Giuseppina, Abbamondi, Gennaro Roberto, Giamberini, Marta, Tylkowski, Bartosz, Carfagna, Cosimo, Cerruti, Pierfrancesco
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antiinfectives and antibacterials
Antimicrobial agents
Contact angle
Essential oils
Food products
Packaging
Plasma
Polyethylene
Polyethylenes
Polylactic acid
Polymer films
Polymers
Quality standards
Scanning electron microscopy
Surface activation
Thyme
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Summary:The development of antimicrobial active packaging constitutes a powerful tool to reduce waste and increase quality standards of perishable goods. Among numerous available antimicrobial agents, essential oils stand out for their renowned efficiency, and their use is beneficial due to their sustainability compared to other oil-based antimicrobials. In this work, we report on the use of photo-responsive nanocapsules containing thyme essential oil as functional coatings for polyethylene and polylactic acid films to obtain antimicrobial active packaging. Polymer surface activation treatment enhanced compatibility with nanocapsules solution. The films were analyzed to assess the structural and functional properties of the coating, evaluate morphological changes due to their photo-responsive behavior, and monitor the light-induced release of volatile thyme oil. It was found that 24 h after a 15-min UV exposure of the coated films, the concentration of thyme oil in the headspace was eight times higher with respect to un-irradiated films, thus confirming the efficiency of the light-triggered release system. Therefore, the manufactured films are proposed as on-demand release devices for application in non-contact antimicrobial active packaging.
ISSN:2073-4360
2073-4360
DOI:10.3390/polym11010068