The impact of zinc oxide particle morphology as an antimicrobial and when incorporated in poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) films for food packaging and food contact surfaces applications

• Published in: Food and bioproducts processing Vol. 101; pp. 32 - 44
• Main Authors: Castro-Mayorga, J.L., Fabra, M.J., Pourrahimi, A.M., Olsson, R.T., Lagaron, J.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rugby Elsevier B.V 01-01-2017; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Active Packaging; Animal morphology; Anti-bacterial activity; Anti-microbial activity; Antibacterial activity; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial activity; Antimicrobial agents; Aqueous precipitation; Bactericides; Chemical synthesis; Coatings; Compression; Direct melting; Electrospinning; Food; Food contact; Food contact surfaces; Food packaging; Foodborne pathogens; Foods; Listeria; Listeria monocytogenes; Mats; Microorganisms; Mixing; Morphology; Nanostructured materials; Optical properties; Oxide films; Packaging machines; Particle size; Pathogens; PHBV; Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate); Precipitation (chemical); Spinning (fibers); Thermal stability; Thermodynamic stability; Zinc; Zinc oxide; Zinc oxides; ZnO; Food contact surfaces; Electrospinning; PHBV; Antimicrobial activity; ZnO; Active Packaging
• ISSN: 0960-3085; 1744-3571; 1744-3571
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fbp.2016.10.007

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•The effect of morphology on the antimicrobial activity of ZnO particles was studied.•Active nanocomposites and electrospun active coatings were developed.•ZnO nanoparticles improved the thermal and optical properties of the materials.•The coating films showed prolonged antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes.•These materials are useful to be used for active packaging and food contact surfaces.
In this work, zinc oxide (ZnO) micron and nano sized-particles with different morphologies were synthesized by aqueous precipitation and evaluated as antimicrobial agents against foodborne pathogens. The most effective bactericide system was selected to prepare active poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) films by three different methods (i) direct melt-mixing, (ii) melt-mixing of preincorporated ZnO into PHBV18 (18mol% valerate content) fiber mats made by electrospinning, and, (iii) as a coating of the annealed electrospun PHBV18/ZnO fiber mats over compression molded PHBV. Results showed that ZnO successfully improved the thermal stability of the PHBV18, being the preincorporation method the most efficient in mitigating the negative impact that the PHBV18 had on the thermal stability, barrier and optical properties of the PHBV films. Similar behavior was found for the coating structure although this film showed effective and prolonged antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes. This study highlights the suitability of the PHBV/ZnO nanostructures for active food packaging and food contact surface applications.