Perspectives for chitosan based antimicrobial films in food applications

Recently, increasing attention has been paid to develop and test films with antimicrobial properties in order to improve food safety and shelf life. Active biomolecules such as chitosan and its derivatives have a significant role in food application area in view of recent outbreaks of contaminations associated with food products as well as growing concerns regarding the negative environmental impact of packaging materials currently in use. Chitosan has a great potential for a wide range of applications due to its biodegradability, biocompatibility, antimicrobial activity, non-toxicity and versatile chemical and physical properties. Thus, chitosan based films have proven to be very effective in food preservation. The presence of amino group in C2 position of chitosan provides major functionality towards biotechnological needs, particularly, in food applications. Chitosan based polymeric materials can be formed into fibers, films, gels, sponges, beads or even nanoparticles. Chitosan films have shown potential to be used as a packaging material for the quality preservation of a variety of food. Besides, chitosan has widely been used in antimicrobial films to provide edible protective coating, in dipping and spraying for the food products due to its antimicrobial properties. Chitosan has exhibited high antimicrobial activity against a wide variety of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, including fungi, and Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The present review aims to highlight various preparative methods and antimicrobial activity including the mechanism of the antimicrobial action of chitosan based films. The optimisation of the biocidic properties of these so called biocomposites films and role of biocatalysts in improvement of quality and shelf life of foods has been discussed.     

壳聚糖的抑菌机理及抑菌特性研究进展

本文介绍了壳聚糖的抑菌作用及其在食品防腐保鲜方面的应用，还对壳聚糖的抑菌机理及其影响因素进行了较为全面的讨论。     

A novel active bionanocomposite film incorporating rosemary essential oil and nanoclay into chitosan

Montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay and rosemary essential oil (REO) were incorporated into chitosan film to improve its physical and mechanical properties as well as antimicrobial and antioxidant behavior. The MMT weight percent relative to chitosan was varied from 1 to 5 and was activated by three REO levels (0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% v/v), and their impact on physical, mechanical, and barrier properties of the chitosan films was investigated. Total phenolic and antimicrobial activity were also evaluated. Microstructure of chitosan/MMT–REO nanocomposites was characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that incorporating MMT and REO into chitosan improves water gain, water vapor permeability, and solubility of the chitosan film by more than 50%. It was also shown that the combined effect of clay and REO improves significantly the tensile strength and elongation of chitosan (p < 0.05). The XRD and FTIR results confirmed that the improvements are related to the MMT exfoliation and good interaction between chitosan and MMT in the presence of REO. Antimicrobial properties of the films also improved by REO incorporation in 1.5% v/v.     

壳聚糖及其衍生物在果酒中应用的研究进展

壳聚糖是一种天然、无毒的高分子聚合物,研究显示其在果酒酿造中具有抑菌、金属螯合、澄清和抗氧化等作用.但壳聚糖在酿酒过程中的上述活性强度及作用机理还未完全阐明.本文主要总结在果酒酿造中,壳聚糖及其衍生物的抗菌、抗氧化、澄清作用机理及应用现状,分析其目前存在的发展瓶颈问题,同时对潜在应用价值进行讨论,以期促进壳聚糖及其衍生...     

壳聚糖抗菌抗氧化活性及其在食品保鲜中应用

壳聚糖因其可生物可降解、生物相容好、无毒和具有天然抗菌抗氧化活性,使其成为食品保鲜与防腐研究的热点。本文在壳聚糖结构与抗菌抗氧化活性的基础上,重点概述了近年来壳聚糖在食品保鲜中的应用。     

壳聚糖胍盐酸盐的制备及其在羊毛织物抗菌整理中的应用

采用微波辐射技术,以壳聚糖胍亚硫酸盐和浓盐酸为原料,合成了一种壳聚糖胍盐酸盐抗菌剂,通过红外光谱和核磁谱图对其结构进行表征。将壳聚糖胍盐酸盐用于羊毛织物的抗菌整理,通过研究整理剂质量浓度、焙烘温度、焙烘时间对整理后羊毛织物抗菌效果和物理力学性能的影响优化整理工艺。结果表明,在微波辐射条件下成功合成了壳聚糖胍盐酸盐抗菌剂,整理剂在羊毛织物上的较佳整理工艺为壳聚糖胍盐质量浓度10 g/L,焙烘温度130℃,焙烘时间5 min。     

不同脱乙酰度蚕蛹壳聚糖抑菌性能的比较

研究了3种不同脱乙酰度蚕蛹壳聚糖对9种供试菌的抑菌效果。结果表明:3种壳聚糖对蜡状芽孢杆菌、鼠伤寒杆菌、枯草芽孢杆菌、白色念珠球菌、绿脓假单胞菌、大肠杆菌和金黄色葡萄球菌有明显的抑制作用,对巨大芽孢杆菌和嗜热脂肪芽孢杆菌的抑制作用不明显。随着壳聚糖溶液浓度的增大,其抑菌能力也增强。3种壳聚糖的抑菌活性为:脱乙酰度为95.96%的壳聚糖>脱乙酰度为86.45%的壳聚糖>脱乙酰度为78.12%的壳聚糖。壳聚糖的抑菌活性呈现随pH降低而增加的趋势,当pH值在pH 4.0～5.0,壳聚糖对所有供试菌均能完全抑制。高脱乙酰度蚕蛹壳聚糖作为热加工食品的防腐剂,可稳定保持其抑菌防腐性能。     

Characterization and antimicrobial analysis of chitosan-based films

Chitosan-based films for food packaging applications were prepared by casting and dried at room temperature or heat-treated in order to study functional properties and antimicrobial activity. In all cases, films were flexible and transparent, regardless of chitosan molecular weight, glycerol content, and temperature. Regarding antimicrobial activity, chitosan film forming solutions showed antimicrobial behaviour against Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus plantarum. It was also observed that the bacteriostatic property of chitosan-based films against bacteria employed in this study was notably affected by temperature. Moreover, temperature produced significant variation in the functional properties of chitosan-based films, such as colour, wettability, resistance against UV light and mechanical properties. In good agreement with this behaviour, total soluble matter (TSM), fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results suggested a change in the chemical structure of chitosan films, possibly due to Maillard reaction when heat treatment was used.     

Chitosan disrupts the barrier properties of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria.

The mode of antimicrobial action of chitosan (polymeric beta-1,4-N-acetylglucosamine) on gram-negative bacteria was studied with special emphasis on its ability to bind to and weaken the barrier function of the outer membrane (OM). Chitosan (250 ppm) at pH 5.3 induced significant uptake of the hydrophobic probe 1-N-phenylnaphthylamine (NPN) in Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhimurium. The effect was reduced (E. coli, salmonellae) or abolished (P. aeruginosa) by MgCl2. No NPN uptake was observed during exposure of the salmonellae to chitosan at pH 7.2. Chitosan also sensitized P. aeruginosa and the salmonellae to the lytic effect of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS); such sensitization was not blocked by MgCl2 and was reversible by washing chitosan-treated cells prior to SDS exposure. Chemical and electrophoretic analyses of cell-free supernatants of chitosan-treated cell suspensions showed that interaction of chitosan with E. coli and the salmonellae involved no release of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or other membrane lipids. However, chitosan rendered E. coli more sensitive to the inhibitory action of dyes and bile acids used in selective media. Highly cationic mutants of S. typhimurium were more resistant to chitosan than the parent strains. Electron microscopy showed that chitosan caused extensive cell surface alterations and covered the OM with vesicular structures. Chitosan thus appeared to bind to the outer membrane, explaining the loss of the barrier function. This property makes chitosan a potentially useful indirect antimicrobial for food protection.     

Antimicrobial activity of native chitosan,degraded chitosan,and O-carboxymethylated chitosan

The antimicrobial activity of native chitosan was compared to that of lipase-degraded chitosan. The effects of O-carboxymethylated (O-CM) substitution on native (molecular weight, 120; degree of deacetylation, 84.71%) and lipase-degraded chitosans were also investigated. The antimicrobial activity of native chitosan was more extensive than that of lipase-degraded chitosan; however, lipase-degraded chitosan was still highly effective and more water-soluble. O-CM chitosan derived from degraded chitosan was more effective than O-CM chitosan derived from native chitosan. O-CM substitution enhanced lipase-degraded chitosan's antimicrobial activity without reducing its solubility.