Volume 142, Issue 13 e56677
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Chitosan/Graphene Oxide/Ag Nanocomposites Loaded in Polyvinyl Alcohol Films as Biodegradable, UV-Blocking, and Antibacterial Film for Fruit Packaging

Nhung Thi Tran

Corresponding Author

Nhung Thi Tran

Ho chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Correspondence:

Nhung Thi Tran ([email protected])

Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Data curation (lead), Formal analysis (lead), ​Investigation (lead), Methodology (lead), Supervision (lead), Writing - original draft (lead), Writing - review & editing (lead)

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Giang Tien Nguyen

Giang Tien Nguyen

Ho chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Contribution: Conceptualization (supporting), Formal analysis (supporting), ​Investigation (supporting), Methodology (supporting), Writing - original draft (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Tam Minh Le

Tam Minh Le

Ho chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Contribution: Formal analysis (supporting), ​Investigation (supporting), Methodology (supporting), Writing - original draft (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Anh Tuan Nguyen Huynh

Anh Tuan Nguyen Huynh

Ho chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Contribution: Formal analysis (supporting), ​Investigation (supporting), Methodology (supporting), Writing - original draft (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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First published: 06 January 2025
Citations: 2

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

ABSTRACT

The polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan/graphene oxide/Ag composite films are facilely fabricated as active multifunctional food packaging materials. The AgNPs of less than 10 nm immobilized onto CS/GO matrices are in situ synthesized by using NaBH4 as a reductant. The effect of different amounts of Ag and CS:GO weight ratios on the mechanical properties, water resistance, optical properties, thermal stability, and antibacterial activities of various films are systematically investigated. The composite film obtained at 0.5 wt% AgNP loading and a CS:GO ratio of 5:1 demonstrates significantly improved tensile strength (33.07 MPa, 1.7 times higher), reduced water swelling (2.4 times lower), increased contact angle (71.08° vs. 53.54°), and enhanced thermal stability compared to the neat PVA film. Additionally, these composite films exhibit excellent bacterial killing and inhibition activities against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus , with zones of inhibition of 10.09 nm and 12.66 mm, respectively. Interestingly, no viable bacteria were found with the film-forming dispersion at 10 μg/mL. Furthermore, the fabricated films exhibit excellent UV-blocking effects, sufficiently protecting exposed green plums from UV damage for 10 days. The membrane-packed acerola fruits also demonstrate better freshness, slower ripening rate, and no signs of microbial growth as compared to those packed with commercial polyethylene film.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.

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