Antimicrobial bio-nanocomposite films based on gelatin, tragacanth, and zinc oxide nanoparticles - Microstructural, mechanical, thermo-physical, and barrier properties.

Gelatin and tragacanth were employed to fabricate antimicrobial nanocomposites with 1, 3, and 5% zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs). FT-IR and XRD proved new chemical interactions among GEL/TGC/ZnO-NPs and higher crystallinity of nanocomposites, respectively. DSC showed a significant increase in melting point temperature (Tm) from ~ 90 to ~ 93-101 °C after adding 1-5% ZnO-NPs. Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) was remarkably increased to 31.21, 34.57, and 35.06 MPa, as well as Young's Modulus to 287.44, 335.47, and 367.04 MPa after incorporating 1, 3, and 5% ZnO-NPs. The ZnO-NPs dose-dependently reduced the water vapor permeability (WVP) of the films. FE-SEM analysis from surface and cross-section illustrated the compact and homogenous structure of the nanocomposites even up to 5% ZnO-NPs. The ZnO-NPs-containing nanocomposites had a good antimicrobial activity (~10-20 mm) against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Generally, the results indicated that the prepared nanocomposite films are promising antimicrobial bio-materials for food packaging.