University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc.

Jaya Sundaram

Hitesh Handa

Marcus J Goudie

Jitendra Pant

Sudhagar Mani

Biodegradable composite membranes with antimicrobial properties consisting of nanocellulose fibrils, chitosan, and S-Nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) were developed and tested for food packaging applications. Nitric oxide donor, SNAP was encapsulated into completely dispersed chitosan in 100 mL, 0.1N acetic acid and was thoroughly mixed with nanocellulose fibrils (CNF) to produce a composite membrane. The fabricated membranes had a uniform dispersion of chitosan and SNAP within the nanocellulose fibrils, which was confirmed through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) micrographs and chemiluminescence nitric oxide analyzer. The membranes prepared without SNAP showed lower water vapor permeability than that of the membranes with SNAP. The addition of SNAP resulted in a decrease in the Young's modulus for both 2-layer and 3-layer membrane configurations. Antimicrobial property evaluation of SNAP incorporated membranes showed an effective zone of inhibition against bacterial strains of, andand demonstrated its potential applications for food packaging.

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Watkinsville, GA, United States of America

Jaya Sundaram