Innovative natural antimicrobial natamycin incorporated titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2)/poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT)/poly (lactic acid) (PLA) biodegradable active film (NTP@PLA) and application in grape preservation

Poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT)/polylactic acid (PLA) blended with compatibilizers (polycaprolactone, PCL; poly (ethylene glycol), PEG; titanium dioxide, nano-TiO2) (TP@PLA composites) were developed by melt processing. Natamycin incorporated into TP@PLA blend composites formed NTP@PLA films, which exhibited high tensile strength (24.1-43.5 MPa) and elongation at break (85.8-258.2 %), and exhibited good oxygen permeability, water vapor permeability, surface hydrophobicity and biodegradability. The in vitro results revealed that inhibition of Penicillium expansum cell growth of the NTP@PLA films with addition of 1.0 wt% natamycin reached 95.72 %. The NTP@PLA film with natamycin effectively reduced incidence of decay (1.52 %) on grapes, maintained their quality, and inhibited the growth of pathogenic fungi to up to 0.42 log cfu.g(-1). This study generates new insights into the preservation properties of antimicrobial NTP@PLA film, which endow it with great application potential as a novel and eco-friendly packaging material for the food industry.