Chitosan nanoparticles improving mechanical properties of different pectin-based films: Low and high methoxyl degrees

International Conference and Exhibition on Biopolymers & Bioplastics

August 10-12, 2015 San Francisco, USA

Lorevice M V1,2, Otoni C G1,2, Moura M R de3 and Mattoso L H C1,2

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Material Sci Eng

Abstract :

The increasing discard of petroleum-based packaging has intensified the environmental impacts. An alternative has been the
production of biodegradable packaging from low-cost and renewable polymers. Pectin, a naturally occurring polysaccharide,
is widely used to make films but presents unfavorable physical properties compared to synthetic polymers. The addition of
nanoparticles was reported to improve the mechanical properties of polysaccharide films. The aim of this study was to add chitosan
nanoparticles (CSNPs) on pectin (high or low methoxyl degrees) matrices producing nanocomposites: HDM pectin/CSNPs and
LDM pectin/CSNPs films; as well as to evaluate the effect of the nanostructure on mechanical properties. CSNPs were synthetized by
ionotropic gelatinization and characterized as to zeta potential, average diameter, and FT-IR. The nanocomposite films were obtained
by casting from colloidal solution of CSNP/pectin and analyzed by thickness, appearance, FT-IR, and mechanical properties. The
CSNPs presented average diameter near to 110 nm and zeta potential near to 50mV. FT-IR showed the interactions between CS
and TPP, representing CSNP formation. By the addition of CSNPs into pectin matrices, nanocomposites were successfully formed,
showing good visual appearance. CSNPs improved the mechanical properties, with the tensile strength having the most significant
enhancement from 30.81±1.50 MPa to 46.95±0.36 MPa for HDM pectin/CSNP and from 26.07±3.78 MPa to 58.51±11.08 MPa for
LDM pectin/CSNP. These results show that nanocomposites produced with pectin/CSNPs have improved mechanical properties
compared with control pectin films, allowing these novel materials to stand out as an alternative to food packaging production.