Synthesis and characterization of antibacterial bio-nano films for food packaging

Different packaging and preservation methods are used in food industry to delay enzymatic and bacterial degradation. One of the most important improvements in this area is nanotechnology and bio-polymer nanocomposite films which are produced with this technology. Nanotechnology gives the scientists the opportunity to change the chemical structure of the packaging material at the atomic size. By designing the molecular contents from scratch, researchers can combine many desired functions in food packaging. The value of polymer-clay composites has been noticed since 2000s and polymer-clay composites have become one of the new composite types. Combining with certain properties, polymer-clay composites have made more durable physical and chemical properties called "nanocomposites" compared with the normal polymer structures. With addition of nanoparticles, it has been observed that products have become more resistant to the light, high temperature, all the other impacts such as strike and gas. Additionally, antimicrobial, oxygen-retaining nanocomposite films are obtained with the help of nanomaterials. The polymer used to produce nanocomposites has its own peculiar structure and is derived from sources such as polysaccharide, protein and lipid. They are also considered as an alternative to petroleum-derived plastics since they are biodegradable, renewable, environmentally friendly and anticancer. The obtained nanocomposites are used in everyday life and industry as well. In general, the nanocomposite-clay production process is achieved by mixing the polymer with the modified quaternary ammonium salt. In this study, quaternary ammonium salt such as cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide and hexadecyl tributyl phosphonium bromide, sodium montmorillonite as the clay, and corn starch as the biopolymer matrix were used. The purpose of this study is to synthesize antibacterial biopolymer clay nanocomposite films which are to be used for antimicrobial food packaging. For this reason, the organoclays acquired in the study were characterized by FTIR, SEM and XRD. Furthermore, the antimicrobial analysis of synthesized samples were conducted and their antimicrobial impacts were compared.