Diatomite as a novel composite ingredient for chitosan film with enhanced physicochemical properties

• Published in: International journal of biological macromolecules 2017-12, Vol.105 (Pt 2), p.1401-1411
• Main Authors: Akyuz, Lalehan, Kaya, Murat, Koc, Behlul, Mujtaba, Muhammad, Ilk, Sedef, Labidi, Jalel, Salaberria, Asier M., Cakmak, Yavuz Selim, Yildiz, Aysegul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Bacillus thuringiensis - drug effects; Characterization; Chemical Phenomena; Chitosan; Chitosan - chemistry; Chitosan - pharmacology; Diatom; Diatomaceous Earth - chemistry; Enterobacter aerogenes - drug effects; Hydrophobic film; Mechanical Phenomena
• ISSN: 0141-8130; 1879-0003; 1879-0003
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2017.08.161

[Display omitted] •Diatomite incorporated chitosan composite films were produced.•Physicochemical and biological properties of composite films were examined.•Film wettability were enhanced with the incorporation of diatomite into the chitosan film.•Elongation at break and thermal stability of composite films were improved.•Antimicrobial activity of the films was recorded twice compared to control gentamicin. Practical applications of biopolymers in different industries are gaining considerable increase day by day. But still, these biopolymers lack important properties in order to meet the industrial demands. In the same regard, in the current study, chitosan composite films are produced by incorporating diatomite soil at two different concentrations. In order to obtain a homogeneous film, glutaraldehyde was supplemented to chitosan solution as a cross-linker. Compositing diatomaceous earth to chitosan film resulted in improvement of various important physicochemical properties compared to control such as; enhanced film wettability, increase elongation at break and improved thermal stability (264–277°C). The microstructure of the film was observed to haveconsisted of homogeneously distributed blister-shaped structures arised due to the incorporation of diatomite. The incorporation of diatomite did not influence the overall antioxidant activity of the composite films, which can be ascribe to the difficulty radicals formation. Chitosan film incorporated with increasing fraction of diatomite revealed a notable enhancement in the antimicrobial activity. Additionally with the present study, for the first time possible interactions between chitosan/diatomite were determined via quantum chemical calculations. Current study will be helpful in giving a new biotechnological perspective to diatom in terms of its successful application in hydrophobic composite film production.