Characterization of anti bacterial biocomposite films based on poly lactic acid and prosopis juliflora bark powder.

Biocomposites can be a solution for environmental pollution and sustainability by acting as an alternative to petroleum-based products used in the field of packaging and biomedical applications. Herein, an attempt to valorize the potential of Prosopis juliflora plant to fabricate Polylactic acid (PLA) based biocomposites. The biocomposites comprised of Prosopis juliflora bark powder (PJBP) and PLA were fabricated by solution casting method with various weight percentages (Wt%) of PJBP. PJBP/PLA films show uniform functional group interactions through FTIR analysis. The 25 % PJBP/ PLA biocomposite shows the highest crystalline size of 8.9 nm. The 25 wt% included PJBP increases the thermal stability by 6.9 %, surface roughness by 212 %, and tensile strength by 45.5 % compared to PLA film. The 25 % PJBP film shows increment in the water absorption and water vapor permeability test. In addition, the antibacterial behavior of 25 % PJBP bio composite shows higher inhibition zones against the gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens. Biocomposite films with PJBP content show 40 % degradation in soil for degradation analysis. This PLA/25 % PJBP biodegradable film can be used as an alternative for petroleum-based products in the field of packaging as well as the biomedical field.