title: Preparation, characterization, and antimicrobial activity of chitin nanofibrils reinforced carrageenan nanocomposite films.
abstract: Present study illustrates the preparation of chitin nanofibrils (CNF) reinforced carrageenan nanocomposite films by the solution-casting technique. CNF was prepared by acid hydrolysis of chitin, followed by high speed homogenization and sonication. FTIR result demonstrated that the chemical structure of chitin had not changed after acid hydrolysis. However, the crystalinity of CNF was found to be higher than chitin. The crystallite size of chitin and CNF was 4.73 and 6.27 nm, respectively. The char content at 600 °C of chitin (19.2%) was lower than the CNF (25%). The carrageenan/CNF composite films were smooth and flexible and the CNF was dispersed uniformly in the carrageenan polymer matrix. The tensile strength and modulus of carrageenan film were increased significantly (p<0.05) after CNF reinforcement with up to 5 wt%, however, elongation at break, water vapor permeability, and transparency decreased slightly. Carrageenan/CNF nanocomposite films showed strong antibacterial activity against a Gram-positive food-borne pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Engineering and Bionanocomposite Research Institute, Mokpo National University, 61 Dorimri, Chungkyemyon, Muangun, Jeonnam 534-729, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Shiv
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shankar
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Engineering and Bionanocomposite Research Institute, Mokpo National University, 61 Dorimri, Chungkyemyon, Muangun, Jeonnam 534-729, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeevan Prasad
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Engineering and Bionanocomposite Research Institute, Mokpo National University, 61 Dorimri, Chungkyemyon, Muangun, Jeonnam 534-729, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jwrhim@mokpo.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jong-Whan
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Rhim
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Service Management, Woosong University, 171 Dongdaejeon-ro, Dong-gu, Daejeon 300-715, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hee-Yun
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002351:Carrageenan / Q000737:chemistry*; D002686:Chitin / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000187:drug effects*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002686:Chitin; D002351:Carrageenan
keywords: Antimicrobial activity; Carrageenan; Chitin; Nanocomposite films; Nanofibrils