Electrospun Nanosystems Based on PHBV and ZnO for Ecological Food Packaging
Maria Râpă, Maria Ștefan, Adriana Popa, Dana Toloman, Cristian Leoștean, Gheorghe Borodi, Dan Cristian Vodnar, Magdalena Wrona, Jesús Salafranca, Cristina Nerı́n, Gabriel Barta, Maria Suciu, Cristian Predescu, Ecaterina Matei
Abstract
The electrospun nanosystems containing poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and 1 wt% Fe doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) (with the content of dopant in the range of 0–1 wt% Fe) deposited onto polylactic acid (PLA) film were prepared for food packaging application. They were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), antimicrobial analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) techniques. Migration studies conducted in acetic acid 3% (wt/wt) and ethanol 10% (v/v) food simulants as well as by the use of treated ashes with 3% HNO3 solution reveal that the migration of Zn and Fe falls into the specific limits imposed by the legislation in force. Results indicated that the PLA/PHBV/ZnO:Fex electrospun nanosystems exhibit excellent antibacterial activity against the Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC-27853) due to the generation of a larger amount of perhydroxyl (˙OOH) radicals as assessed using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy coupled with a spin trapping method.