Effective antimicrobial materials based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles

La versión de editor/PDF no puede utilizarse. Debe enlazar a la versión de editor con DOI. Author's post-print must be released with a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License.[EN] Effective antimicrobial polymeric nanocomposites were prepared with low density polyethylene (LDPE) and zinc oxide nanoparticles by melt compounding. These nanoparticles (~17 nm) obtained by the sol¿gel method, were used both as-synthesized and modified organically with oleic acid (Mod-ZnO). Young¿s modulus increased ~15 and 18% for LDPE/ZnO and LDPE/Mod-ZnO, respectively, compared to neat LDPE. When these composites were irradiated with white light, they showed an increase with nanoparticle incorporation, and the antimicrobial properties against E. coli were ~96¿99%. The release of the Zn cations was related to the antimicrobial properties. These nanocomposites are attractive for use as food packaging without external irradiation.Financial support provided by the Innovation Found for Competitiveness of the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO) under Grant 13CEI2-21839 is gratefully acknowledged.Rojas, K.; Canales, D.; Amigo, N.; Montoille, L.; Cament, A.; Rivas, LM.; Gil-Castell, O.... (2019). Effective antimicrobial materials based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. Composites Part B Engineering. 172:173-178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2019.05.054S17317817