Polymers, Vol. 15, Pages 2372: Biopolymer Based Multifunctional Films Loaded with Anthocyanin Rich Floral Extract and ZnO Nano Particles for Smart Packaging and Wound Healing Applications

Polymers, Vol. 15, Pages 2372: Biopolymer Based Multifunctional Films Loaded with Anthocyanin Rich Floral Extract and ZnO Nano Particles for Smart Packaging and Wound Healing Applications

Polymers doi: 10.3390/polym15102372

Authors: Jijo Thomas Koshy Devipriya Vasudevan Dhanaraj Sangeetha Arun Anand Prabu

There are significant societal repercussions from our excessive use of plastic products derived from petroleum. In response to the increasing environmental implications of plastic wastes, biodegradable materials have been proven to be an effective means of mitigating environmental issues. Therefore, protein- and polysaccharide-based polymers have gained widespread attention recently. In our study, for increasing the strength of a biopolymer (Starch), we used ZnO dispersed nanoparticles (NPs), which resulted in the enhancement of other functional properties of the polymer. The synthesized NPs were characterized using SEM, XRD, and Zeta potential values. The preparation techniques are completely green, with no hazardous chemicals employed. The floral extract employed in this study is Torenia fournieri (TFE), which is prepared using a mixture of ethanol and water and possesses diverse bioactive features and pH-sensitive characteristics. The prepared films were characterized using SEM, XRD, FTIR, contact angle and TGA. The incorporation of TFE and ZnO (SEZ) NPs was found to increase the overall nature of the control film. The results obtained from this study confirmed that the developed material is suitable for wound healing and can also be used as a smart packaging material.