Antifungal Effect of Chitosan/Nano-TiO2 Composite Coatings against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Cladosporium oxysporum and Penicillium steckii

Postharvest pathogens such as C. gloeosporioides (MA), C.oxysporum (ME) and P. steckii (MF) are the causal agents of disease in mangoes. This paper presents an in vitro investigation into the antifungal effect of a chitosan (CTS)/nano-titanium dioxide (TiO2) composite coating against MA, ME and MF. The results indicated that, the rates of MA, ME and MF mortality following the single chitosan treatment were 63.3%, 84.8% and 43.5%, respectively, while the rates of mycelial inhibition were 84.0%, 100% and 25.8%, respectively. However, following the addition of 0.5% nano-TiO2 into the CTS, both the mortality and mycelial inhibition rates for MA and ME reached 100%, and the mortality and mycelial inhibition rate for MF also increased significantly, reaching 75.4% and 57.3%, respectively. In the MA, the dry weight of mycelia after the CTS/0.5% nano-TiO2 treatment decreased by 36.3% in comparison with the untreated group, while the conductivity value was about 1.7 times that of the untreated group, and the protein dissolution rate and extravasation degree of nucleic acids also increased significantly. Thus, this research revealed the potential of CTS/nano-TiO2 composite coatings in the development of new antimicrobial materials.