Abstract:
PVA-essential oil based antimicrobial packaging film was developed for their effective usage for both food/ package (direct contact) system and food/headspace/package (indirect contact) system. The Antimicrobial package consists of PVA as a film substrate and cinnamaldehyde as an antimicrobial agent. The antimicrobial packaging film of PVA incorporating cinnamaldehyde (CIN) as with a different concentration of 15%, 30%, 45% (v/w) were fabricated by solvent casting method. The antimicrobial properties of the film were estimated by micro-atmosphere antimicrobial test. The antimicrobial film with a concentration of 45% CIN in PVA polymer matrix show total inhibition against Escherichia Coli at the dilution factor of 108. MD simulation was used to evaluate the diffusion coefficient oxygen gas and water vapor molecules in PVA-CIN polymer matrix. The diffusion coefficient was computed through a long run NVE dynamics for 1ns at the room temperature (300K). The computed diffusion coefficient of oxygen gas and water vapor show a similar trend with the reported literature. Surface morphology of PVA-CIN film was observed via FE-SEM show the irregularity and uneven surface with the increasing concentration of CIN. Tensile strength was reduced by 7.75% as compared to the pristine PVA film. WVTR of PVA first increased and then decreased with the increase in the concentration of the CIN. The FT-IR spectra confirmed the successful incorporation of CIN in the PVA polymer film.
