Protein‐based bioplastics and their antibacterial potential

The use of conventional petroleum‐based plastics in many applications poses the risk of contamination, potentially causing infection when used in medical applications, and contamination when used in food packaging. Nontraditional materials such as protein are being examined for their potential use in the production of bioplastics for applications that require uncontaminated materials. The proteins of albumin, soy, and whey provide possible sources of raw material for bioplastic production, as they have already been utilized in the area of edible films and low‐stress applications. We conducted this study to investigate the thermal, viscoelastic, and antibacterial properties of the albumin, soy, and whey bioplastics with the use of three plasticizers—water, glycerol, and natural rubber latex (NRL). Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli were utilized as Gram (+) and Gram (?) species, respectively, for antimicrobial analysis. Albumin and whey bioplastics exhibited similar thermal and viscoelastic properties, whereas soy bioplastics had varied viscoelastic properties based on the plasticizer used. In terms of antibacterial activity, the albumin–glycerol and whey–glycerol were the best bioplastics, as no bacterial growth was observed on the plastics after 24 h of inoculation. In terms of the future impact of this research, the aim will be to scale up production of the bioplastics for use in food packaging as well as biomedical applications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41931.