Poly(vinyl alcohol)‐Based Film Potentially Suitable for Antimicrobial Packaging Applications

Abstract

This work aimed at developing a thin and water-resistant food-grade poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH)-based matrix able to swell when in contact with high moisture content food products without rupturing to release antimicrobial agents onto the food surface. This film was prepared by blending PVOH and 7.20% (wt/wt of PVOH) of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with citric acid as crosslinking agent. The film-forming solution was then casted onto a flat surface and the obtained film was 60 μm in thickness and showed a good transparency (close to T = 100%) in the visible region (400 to 700 nm). After immersion in water for 72 h at room temperature, the crosslinked matrix loses only 19.2% of its original weight (the percentage includes the amount of unreacted crosslinking agent, antimicrobial in itself). Water content, degree of swelling, and crosslinking density of the film prove that the presence of PEG diminishes the hydrophilic behavior of the material. Also the mechanical properties of the wet and dry film were assessed. Alongside this, 2.5% (wt/wt of dry film) of grapefruit seed extract (GSE), an antimicrobial agent, was added to the film-forming solution just before casting and the ability of the plastic matrix to release the additive was then evaluated in vitro against 2 GSE-susceptible microorganisms, Salmonella enteritidis and Listeria innocua. The results indicate that the developed matrix may be a promising food-grade material for the incorporation of active substances.

Effect of Sorbitol Plasticizer on the Structure and Properties of Melt Processed Polyvinyl Alcohol Films

“…As one kind of environment‐friendly polymers, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) possesses characteristics such as water solubility, transparency, fine flexibility, biodegradable and barrier properties, and so on (Ben Halima ), and finds more and more applications as packaging films (Musetti and others ; Wang and others ), biodegradable plastics (Aydin and Ilberg ; Cho and others ), fibers (Arecchi and others ; Liu and others ; Souzandeh and others ; Zhang and others ), and so on. However, PVA melting point is close to its thermal decomposition temperature due to the presence of numerous hydroxyl groups and strong inter‐/intrahydrogen bonding interactions and hence, the melt‐processing is very difficult for PVA materials (Wu and others ).…”

Recent advances in clay mineral-containing nanocomposite hydrogels

“…8,9 In contrast, the chemically cross-linked hydrogels are permanent networks formed through covalent bonds, enabling volume phase transitions (VPT) 10 when exposed to external physical or chemical stimuli, including temperature, 11,12 light, electric field, 13 ionic strength, 14 pH, 15 enzyme, 16 and biomolecules. As a result of these characteristics, hydrogels can be used as superabsorbents, 17,18 packaging materials, 19 soft lenses, 20 microfluidic devices, 21 catalyst supports, 22,23 biomedical materials, 24,25 and bioactuators 26 ( Fig. 1a).…”

A real time study on drying and the mechano-optical behavior of polyvinyl alcohol films in solid and swollen state

“…It has been widely used in food packaging [3], paper production [1] and medical devices such as soft contact lens [4], hemodialysis [5], vitreous substitute [6] and artificial pancreas [7,8], cartilage [9], meniscus [10] etc. in forms of membrane and hydrogel.…”