Herrera, Adriana ¹, De Ávila-Montiel, Gezira ², Polo-Corrales, Liliana ³

Affiliations
1 Chemical Engineering Program, Nanomaterials and Computer Aided Process Engineering Research Group (NIPAC), University of Cartagena, Cartagena, Bolívar, CO
2 Chemical Engineering Program, Process Design and Biomass Utilization Research Group, University of Cartagena, Cartagena, Bolívar
3 Department of Agroindustrial Engineering, Innovation and Development of Food Processes (DESINPA) - Universidad de Sucre, Sincelejo, CO

Abstract

Objectives: This work was performed to study aspects such as morphological characteristics, thermal analysis, and antimicrobial activity of chitosan films that incorporate silver nanoparticles. Methods/Analysis: The films were analyzed by the followings techniques: a) FT-IR analysis to identify their functional groups, b) Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to study the morphological structure of the samples. c) UV-spectroscopy to obtain the intensity of the band in the films, d) DSC-TGA measurements to determine the thermal stability of the material, and e) the disk method to examine the antimicrobial activity of the samples. Findings: The films showed a good interaction between their components. Also, a good thermal stability, a protective barrier against ultraviolet light, a high rugosity, and high antimicrobial activity were observed in samples that incorporated a higher concentration of silver nanoparticles. Novelty/ Improvement: These results suggested that chitosan-based films with silver nanoparticles incorporated are a potential material for food packaging.

Keywords

Antimicrobial Activity, Chitosan, Food Packaging,Nanocomposites, Silver Nanoparticles

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