A novel antimicrobial composite: ZnAl-hydrotalcite with p -hydroxybenzoic acid intercalation and its possible application as a food packaging material

• Published in: New journal of chemistry Vol. 43; no. 48; pp. 19408 - 19414
• Main Authors: Cheng, Hui-Min, Gao, Xue-Wei, Zhang, Kang, Wang, Xin-Rui, Zhou, Wei, Li, Shu-Jing, Cao, Xue-Li, Yan, Dong-Peng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 2019
• Subjects: Aluminum; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Electronic packaging; Food packaging; Fungicides; Gelatin; Hydroxides; Infrared spectroscopy; Microorganisms
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/C9NJ03943K

Microbial contamination poses a great threat to people's life and health. In this paper, p -hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA) was intercalated into layered double hydroxides (LDHs, with Zn : Al molar ratio = 4 : 1); the former possesses the antifungal effect for Candida albicans , and the latter shows the best antibacterial effect for Staphylococcus aureus . The sample was characterized by XRD, FT-IR spectroscopy and TG-DTA. Its sustained-release property was studied by a release experiment. Finally, ZnAl-PHBA-LDH (Zn : Al = 4 : 1) was dispersed into the solution of gelatin to obtain a food packaging film; antimicrobial experiments showed that the gelatin film of ZnAl-PHBA-LDH (Zn : Al = 4 : 1) (ZPL4) could effectively inhibit the activity of Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans . The experimental results confirm the application of ZPL4 in the field of food antimicrobial packaging.