Development of Antimicrobial Poly(ε-caprolactone)/Poly(lactic acid)/Silver Exchanged Montmorillonite Nanoblend Films with Silver Ion Release Property for Active Packaging Use

Biodegradable PCL/PLA/Ag-MMT nanoblends with a strong antibacterial activity and a silver ion release property were successfully prepared by melt blending process for active packaging use. The presence of silver exchanged montmorillonite and its interaction with PCL/PLA matrix was evidenced by ATR/FTIR. The morphology was investigated by both XRD and TEM analyses. It was suggested the formation of mainly exfoliated structures with a random dispersion of spherical silver nanoparticles within their composite matrices. The thermal and mechanical properties of these nanomaterials were thoroughly investigated and compared to those of the unfilled blends. The potential of the silver ion release from the PCL/PLA/Ag-MMT film was estimated after immersion in water for several periods of time. The results showed an increase of the amount of silver ions released with growing immersion time of PCL/PLA/Ag-MMT nanoblends. Due to the presence of silver nanoparticles in their matrices, PCL/PLA/Ag-MMT nanoblends showed a total bacteria growth inhibition.