Starch Nanocomposite Films: Migration Studies of Nanoparticles to Food Simulants and Bio-Disintegration in Soil

ORTEGA, F.; P. SOBRAL; JIOS, J.; ARCE, V.B.; GARCIA, M. A.

Polymers MDPI

MDPI

Año: 2022

In this work, films containing AgNPs were obtained by different green synthesis techniques(AgNP in situ and AgNP L). The inclusion of nanoparticles in the starch matrix improved bothmechanical and barrier properties. The migration of AgNPs from the nanocomposite material tothree food simulants (water, 3% v/v acetic acid and 15% v/v ethanol) was studied. The experimentaldata were fitted by using different widely accepted mathematical models (Fickian, Ritger and Peppas,and Weibull), indicating that the AgNP migration followed a complex mechanism. The silverconcentration (mg Ag per kg of simulant) that was released from the nanocomposite films was higherfor the samples with AgNPs in situ than for those containing AgNP L. Likewise, the maximum releasevalue (0.141 mg/dm2 for AgNPs in situ in acetic acid simulant) was lower than the limits proposedby the legislation (European Commission and MERCOSUR; 10 and 8 mg/dm2, respectively). Thereplacement of conventional plastic materials by biodegradable ones requires the evaluation of biodisintegrationtests in soil. In this sense, a period of 90 days was necessary to obtain 50% weight lossin both nanocomposite films. Additionally, the bio-disintegration of the samples did not contributewith phytotoxic compounds to the soil, allowing the germination of fast-growing seeds.