Wrońska Natalia, Katir Nadia, Nowak-Lange Marta, El Kadib Abdelkrim, Lisowska Katarzyna
Department of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, 12/16 Banacha Street, 90-236 Lodz, Poland.
Engineering Division, Euromed Research Center, Euro-Med University of Fes (UEMF), Route de Meknes, Rond-Point de Bensouda, Fes 30070, Morocco.
Foods. 2023 Sep 21;12(18):3519. doi: 10.3390/foods12183519.
The impact of synthetic packaging on environmental pollution has been observed for years. One of the recent trends of green technology is the development of biomaterials made from food processing waste as an alternative to plastic packaging. Polymers obtained from some polysaccharides, such as chitosan, could be an excellent solution. This study investigated the biodegradability of chitosan-metal oxide films (ZnO, TiO, FeO) and chitosan-modified graphene films (CS-GO-Ag) in a soil environment. We have previously demonstrated that these films have excellent mechanical properties and exhibit antibacterial activity. This study aimed to examine these films' biodegradability and the possibility of their potential use in the packaging industry. The obtained results show that soil microorganisms were able to utilize chitosan films as the source of carbon and nitrogen, thus providing essential evidence about the biodegradability of CS, CS:Zn (20:1; 10:1), and CS:FeO (20:1) films. After 6 weeks of incubation, the complete degradation of the CS-FeO 20:1 sample was noted, while after 8 weeks, CS-ZnO 20:1 and CS-ZnO 10:1 were degraded. This is a very positive result that points to the practical aspect of the biodegradability of such films in soil, where garbage is casually dumped and buried. Once selected, biodegradable films can be used as an alternative to plastic packaging, which contributes to the reduction in pollution in the environment.
合成包装对环境污染的影响已被观察多年。绿色技术的最新趋势之一是开发由食品加工废料制成的生物材料，以替代塑料包装。从一些多糖（如壳聚糖）中获得的聚合物可能是一个很好的解决方案。本研究调查了壳聚糖-金属氧化物薄膜（ZnO、TiO、FeO）和壳聚糖改性石墨烯薄膜（CS-GO-Ag）在土壤环境中的生物降解性。我们之前已经证明这些薄膜具有优异的机械性能并表现出抗菌活性。本研究旨在检验这些薄膜的生物降解性以及它们在包装行业潜在应用的可能性。所得结果表明，土壤微生物能够利用壳聚糖薄膜作为碳源和氮源，从而为CS、CS:Zn（20:1；10:1）和CS:FeO（20:1）薄膜的生物降解性提供了重要证据。孵育6周后，注意到CS-FeO 20:1样品完全降解，而8周后，CS-ZnO 20:1和CS-ZnO 10:1被降解。这是一个非常积极的结果，表明此类薄膜在垃圾随意倾倒和掩埋的土壤中生物降解的实际可行性。一旦选定，可生物降解薄膜可用作塑料包装的替代品，这有助于减少环境污染。
