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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Food Quality Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #311652

Title: Development of silver/titanium dioxide/chitosan adipate nanocomposite as an antibacterial coating for fruit storage

Author
item LIN, BAOFENG - Guangxi Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item Luo, Yaguang - Sunny
item ZHANG, ZI - University Of Maryland
item ZHANG, BOCE - University Of Maryland
item ZHOU, BIN - University Of Maryland
item WANG, QIN - University Of Maryland

Submitted to: LWT - Food Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/19/2015
Publication Date: 4/25/2015
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/61208
Citation: Lin, B., Luo, Y., Zhang, Z., Zhang, B., Zhou, B., Wang, Q. 2015. Development of silver/titanium dioxide/chitosan adipate nanocomposite as an antibacterial coating for fruit storage. LWT - Food Science and Technology. 63:1206-1213.

Interpretive Summary: Chitosan is composed of biodegradable polysaccharide and silver nanoparticles can be incorporated into food for preservation. Nano-TiO2 exhibits good adhesiveness and bactericidal activities, and has been used as GRAS additives in medical devices and biomaterials. The objective of this study is to construct an antibacterial coating of Ag/TiO2/CS for storage of fruits such as cantaloupes and litchis. The coating technology is expected to perform well on the rough fruit skin, especially for reducing bacteria in the cracks and pores. This study provides critical information to the industry and scientific community, and the application of this technology will potential benefit fruit producers, processors and distributors.

Technical Abstract: A novel nanocomposite of silver/titanium dioxide/chitosan adipate (Ag/TiO2/CS) was developed through photochemical reduction using a chitosan adipate template. Chitosan served as a reducing agent for the metal ions, and anchored metal ions by forming Ag–N coordination bonds and electrostatic attractions, thus stabilizing the Ag/TiO2/CS product. This was evidenced by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction patterns. Scanning electron microscope observations further revealed that the nanocomposite particles with average size of 50 to 100 nm were successfully deposited onto the tree-shaped chitosan adipate layer. The product exhibited relatively high'-potential at 30.1 mV, which increased slightly to 33.9 mV after 60 days of storage. In addition, the nanocomposite possessed higher antimicrobial activity than individual AgNO3 or nano-Ag particles at similar concentration, as evidenced by inhibition zone, minimum inhibitory concentrations, and growth curve. The nanocomposite reduced the E. coli population by 6 log CFU/mL after 24 h of incubation, and the MIC value was 0.38µgAg/mL. These results suggested that Ag/TiO2/CS is a potential antibacterial coating for fruit storage.