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. 2024 May 27;10(11):e31856.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31856. eCollection 2024 Jun 15.

Improving the behavior of thermoplastic starch with the addition of gum Arabic: Antibacterial, mechanical properties and biodegradability

J L López Terán  1 , Elvia V Cabrera  1 , J Poveda  2 , Judith Araque  1 , M I Beltrán  2
Affiliations

Improving the behavior of thermoplastic starch with the addition of gum Arabic: Antibacterial, mechanical properties and biodegradability

J L López Terán et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

The incorporation of different amounts of Gum Arabic (GA) in thermoplastic starch (TPS) obtained by extrusion and subsequent thermocompression has been studied. The sheets have been characterized by means of XRD, FTIR, TGA, moisture content, SEM, mechanical properties, antimicrobial activity and biodegradability via composting. The FTIR analysis of the sheets shows the presence of ester groups, while the TGA shows the presence of new processes and a residue much higher than expected is obtained. No changes in crystallinity are observed by XRD. The inclusion of GA confers antimicrobial properties to thermoplastic starch against the Gram + and Gram - bacteria studied even at the smaller concentrations. For a low GA content (0.5 and 1 g GA/100 g TPS) a homogeneous material is observed by SEM, as well as an important increase in tensile strength, modulus and deformation at break, which are very interesting properties facing the applicability of this material in single use plastics which are in contact with food or other consumable goods. At higher contents of GA, hollows and cracks appear in the material, compromising the mechanical properties. In all cases, the inclusion of GA delays the biodegradation process in soil, which can be related to its antibacterial capacity and especially in case of GA concentrations of 2 and 5 g/100 g of TPS with lower humidity of these TPS sheets.

Keywords: Antimicrobial properties; Biodegradable polymers; Gum Arabic; Mechanical properties; Thermoplastic starch.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Jorge L. Lopez reports financial support was provided by Central University of Ecuador. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Aspect of the sheets obtained; a) 60TPS, b) 60TPS-0.5 GA, c) 60TPS-1GA, d) 60TPS-2GA and e) 60TPS-5GA.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
XRD-patterns of starch, TPS and TPS containing different amounts of GA.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
FTIR spectra of potato starch, glycerin and Gum Arabic.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
FTIR spectra of 60TPS, 60TPS-0.5 GA, 60TPS-1GA, 60TPS-2GA y 60TPS-5GA sheets.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
TG curves of the sheets containing GA, 60TPS, 60TPS-5GA and 60TPS-5GA theoretical.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
DTG curves of the sheets containing different amounts of GA along with that of 60TPS.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
SEM photographs at 1000× magnifications of (a) starch granules, (b) GA granules (c) 60TPS, (d) 60TPS-0.5 GA, (e) 60TPS-1GA, (f) 60TPS-2GA and (g) 60TPS-5GA at 5000× magnifications.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Residual weight curves of the 60TPS sheets containing different amounts of GA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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