Films of polyethylene-AgNPs

Abstract

In recent years, antimicrobial packaging has attracted much attention from the food industry because of the increase in consumer demand for minimally processed, preservative-free-products. Different grades of polyethylene, LLDPE and LDPE play a major role in the film blowing industry and are widely used for packing applications. In our study, blown films of LLDPE / LDPE, and their blends were produced using a twin screw extruder. The combination of PEs as matrix, and silver nanoparticles with oleic acid solution, improved the AgNPs dispersion in the films. The films were evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDX), and Ecotoxicity. Further, the antibacterial properties of the films were investigated against Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) bacteria.