Mechanical and antibacterial properties of the chitosan coated cellulose paper for packaging applications: Effects of molecular weight types and concentrations of chitosan

Journal article

Authors/Editors

Strategic Research Themes

Pulp and paper (Materials Processing )

Publication Details

Author list: Tanpichai S., Witayakran S., Wootthikanokkhan J., Srimarut Y., Woraprayote W., Malila Y.

Publisher: Elsevier

Publication year: 2020

Journal: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (0141-8130)

Volume number: 155

Start page: 1510

End page: 1519

Number of pages: 10

ISSN: 0141-8130

URL: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85075821449&doi=10.1016%2fj.ijbiomac.2019.11.128&partnerID=40&md5=58185c817eeced3b8e1c523dc5955a28

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

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Abstract

Chitosan with low (25 kDa) and high molecular weight (2100 kDa) were used to enhance performances of paper made from steam-exploded bamboo fibers and nanofibrillated cellulose. Chitosan solutions with concentrations of 0–1.0 wt% were manually applied on paper surface using a facile coating approach with a wire bar. Effects of chitosan coatings on morphology, thermal stability, wettability, mechanical performances and antibacterial properties of the paper were investigated. The larger improvement in the mechanical properties and wettability of the chitosan coated paper was observed with increasing concentrations of chitosan due to the disappearance of empty pores between fibers within a cellulose network by the formed chitosan matrix. These improvements were significantly higher when high molecular weight chitosan was applied. Yet, the addition of chitosan slightly decreased the thermal stability of the coated paper, and the chitosan coating did not improve the antimicrobial properties of the paper. The antimicrobial activity of chitosan against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) was found to be diminished when a chitosan solution was entrapped within paper. Together with the overall migration of the paper in food simulants, the results suggested that the chitosan coated paper could be applied for non-food-direct-contact packaging materials. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.

Keywords

Overall migration