March 24th 2022
Study: Preparation and Properties of Pea Starch/ε-Polylysine Composite Films.
In this study, the authors examined the composite films made of ε-polylysine (PL) and pea starch (St), where St and PL were utilized as the matrix and sodium alginate and glycerol were used as the plasticizers. The composite films’ mechanical, rheological, spectroscopic, water vapor permeability (WVP) and oil permeability, thermogravimetry (TGA), microstructure, and antibacterial characteristics were investigated. The proposed five solutions of the film were made up of various pseudoplastic fluids.
The team explored the effects of blends with various proportions of St and PL on film-forming ability and microbial inhibition were explored. The apparent viscosity shear rate curves of the five composite film solutions were measured by using a rheometer. The average value of five points on a film measured with a micrometer caliper was used to calculate the thickness of each composite film. A physical property tester was used to determine the films’ tensile strength (TS) and fracture elongation (E).
The researchers used the quasi-cup method to determine the WVP of the composite films. The thermal stability of the powder samples was investigated with a thermal analyzer employing TGA and differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTG). A scanning electron microscope was used to examine the morphology of the composite films. To investigate the antibacterial characteristics of the composite films, Escherichia coli (ATCC 25312), yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ATCC 204508), and Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 23857) were used.
Source: Yu, Z., Gong, D., Han, C., Preparation and Properties of Pea Starch/ε-Polylysine Composite Films. Materials 15(6) 2327 (2022).
Link: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/6/2327