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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Bioproducts Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #335248
Research Project: Bioproducts from Agricultural Feedstocks

Location: Bioproducts Research

Title: Mechanically robust and transparent N-halamine grafted PVA-co-PE films with renewable antimicrobial activity

Author
item SI, YANG - University Of California
item COSSU, ANDREA - University Of California
item NITIN, NITIN - University Of California
item MA, YUE - University Of California
item ZHAO, CUNYI - University Of California
item Chiou, Bor-Sen
item Cao, Trung
item WANG, DONG - University Of California
item SUN, GANG - University Of California

Submitted to: Macromolecular Bioscience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/28/2016
Publication Date: 3/16/2017
Citation: Si, Y., Cossu, A., Nitin, N., Ma, Y., Zhao, C., Chiou, B., Cao, T., Wang, D., Sun, G. 2017. Mechanically robust and transparent N-halamine grafted PVA-co-PE films with renewable antimicrobial activity. Macromolecular Bioscience. doi: 10.1002/mabi.201600304.

Interpretive Summary: Polymer films with rechargeable anti-microbial properties were produced for possible use in conveyor belts for fresh produce. These films can effectively eliminate bacteria in a relatively short time by simple contact. This provides the packaging industry with another method to prevent contamination and improve safety of fresh produce consumption.

Technical Abstract: Antimicrobial polymeric films that are both mechanically robust and function renewable would have broad technological implications for areas ranging from medical safety and bioengineering to foods industry; however, creating such materials has proven extremely challenging. Here, a novel strategy is reported to create high-strength N-halamine incorporated poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) films (HAF films) with renewable antimicrobial activity by combining melt radical graft polymerization and reactive extrusion technique. The approach allows here the intrinsically rechargeable N-halamine moieties to be covalently incorporated into polymeric films with high biocidal activity and durability. The resulting HAF films exhibit integrated properties of robust mechanical strength, high transparency, rechargeable chlorination capability (>300 ppm), and long-term durability, which can effectively offer 3-5 logs CFU reduction against typical pathogenic bacterium Escherichia coli within a short contact time of 1 h, even at high organism conditions. The successful synthesis of HAF films also provides a versatile platform for exploring the applications of antimicrobial N-halamine moieties in a self-supporting, structurally adaptive, and function renewable form.