Antibacterial activity of polyethylene film by hyperthermal hydrogen induced cross-linking with chitosan quaternary ammonium salt

Abstract

In this study, hyperthermal hydrogen-induced cross-linking (HHIC) technology was applied to construct a dense cross-linking layer of antibacterial chitosan quaternary ammonium salt (HTCC) to PE surface through the selective cleavage of CH bonds and subsequent cross-linking of the resulting carbon radicals. Before HHIC treatment, UV-Ozone was used to activate PE surface to facilitate HTCC adsorption. FT-IR and XPS analyses proved the successful cross-linking between PE and HTCC. From AFM analysis, the prepared PE cross-linked HTCC film (PE-c-HTCC) showed the rougher surface with average roughness (Ra) of 9.16 nm. The water vapor permeability (WVP) and oxygen permeability (OP) values of the film were decreased by about 83 % and 97 %, respectively. Additionally, the film exhibited strong antibacterial properties against E. coli and S. aureus. In terms of these properties, the shelf life of fresh beef could be extended for 2 days after packing with the PE-c-HTCC film.