Low density polyethylene – Chitosan composites

With the aim of develop new materials for active food packaging, composites of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with chitosan (CS) or chitosan sodium montmorillonite clay nanocomposites (CSnano), with or without Irganox 1076 commercial synthetic antioxidant or vitamin E (VE) as natural antioxidant were prepared by melt processing. The obtained materials have been characterized by processing behavior, mechanical and thermal properties, positive groups determination, atomic force microscopy and standard tests to assess antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The compositions assuring insignificant decrease in mechanical and thermal properties were selected as LDPE/3CSnano/VE and LDPE/6CSnano/VE. It has been shown the chitosan imparts antimicrobial properties to LDPE films while the vitamin E increased the oxidation induction period, especially for materials containing chitosan nanocomposites. The incorporation of both chitosan nanocomposites and vitamin E in polyethylene gave films with good antimicrobial and thermal properties because of significant increase of charge surface and important changes in surface topology and antimicrobial activity because of a synergistic effect. The nanocomposites cannot only passively protect the food against environmental factors, but they may enhance shelf life of food products. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.