Nanosilver Loaded Chitosan Film and Filter Paper for Food Packaging

Food nanotechnology is an area of emerging interest and opens up a whole universe of new possibilities for the food industry. The basic categories of nanotechnology applications and functionalities in the development of food packaging includes: the improvement of plastic material barriers, the incorporation of active components that can deliver functional attributes beyond those of conventional active packaging, and the sensing and signaling of relevant information. Nanotechnology holds great promise to provide benefits not just within food products but also around food packaging. In this presentation, I attempt to summarize the progress in using these applications to explore ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) initiated graft copolymerization of acrylamide onto cellulose-based filter paper and lactic acid grafted chitosan film followed by entrapment of silver nanoparticles. The novel nano silver loaded filter paper and chitosan lactate (CL) film has been investigated for its antimicrobial properties against E.coli. This newly developed material shows strong antibacterial property and thus offers its candidature for possible use as antibacterial food-packaging material.