PMID- 31557864 OWN - NLM STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE LR - 20231019 IS - 2073-4360 (Electronic) IS - 2073-4360 (Linking) VI - 11 IP - 10 DP - 2019 Sep 25 TI - HDPE/Chitosan Composites Modified with PE-g-MA. Thermal, Morphological and Antibacterial Analysis. LID - 10.3390/polym11101559 [doi] LID - 1559 AB - In this work, composites of high density polyethylene (HDPE) with chitosan were prepared by melt compounding in a laboratory internal mixer. Maleic anhydride grafted HDPE (PE-g-MA) in a concentration up to 25 phr was used as a compatibilizer to enhance the dispersing effect of chitosan in the HDPE matrix. The degree of crystallinity was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the thermal properties were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG). The morphology was investigated by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The integrity of composites was evaluated by mechanical properties and antibacterial properties were assessed against Escherichia coli (DH5a). Neither crystallinity nor HDPE's melting parameters changed upon addition of chitosan and PE-g-MA. Chitosan aggregates were observed, which were dispersed upon addition of PE-g-MA, which also provided improved mechanical performance. Chitosan significantly improved the bacteriostatic effect of HDPE compounds preventing bacteria to colonize thus reducing the number of viable colony-forming units (CFU). This study revealed that HDPE/chitosan composites could be obtained by melt compounding, at lower cost and additionally having antibacterial properties, which might provide a new formulation option for developing antimicrobial film for food packaging. FAU - Lima, Poliana S AU - Lima PS AD - Department of Materials Engineering, Federal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, PB 58429-900, Brazil. polianassilva@yahoo.com.br. FAU - Trocolli, Rossanna AU - Trocolli R AD - Department of Materials Engineering, Federal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, PB 58429-900, Brazil. rossannatrocolli@gmail.com. FAU - Wellen, Renate M R AU - Wellen RMR AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-3565-7366 AD - Department of Materials Engineering, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa, PB 58051-900, Brazil. wellen.renate@gmail.com. FAU - Rojo, Luis AU - Rojo L AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-6334-6736 AD - Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP- CSIC), Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain. rojodelolmo@ictp.csic.es. FAU - Lopez-Manchado, Miguel A AU - Lopez-Manchado MA AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-2425-4000 AD - Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP- CSIC), Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain. lmanchado@ictp.csic.es. FAU - Fook, Marcus V L AU - Fook MVL AD - Department of Materials Engineering, Federal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, PB 58429-900, Brazil. marcus.liafook@certbio.ufcg.edu.br. FAU - Silva, Suedina M L AU - Silva SML AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-2073-0989 AD - Department of Materials Engineering, Federal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, PB 58429-900, Brazil. suedina.silva@ufcg.edu.br. LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20190925 PL - Switzerland TA - Polymers (Basel) JT - Polymers JID - 101545357 PMC - PMC6835920 OTO - NOTNLM OT - HDPE OT - PE-g-MA OT - bacteriostatic effect OT - chitosan OT - thermal and morphological properties COIS- The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest. EDAT- 2019/09/29 06:00 MHDA- 2019/09/29 06:01 PMCR- 2019/09/25 CRDT- 2019/09/28 06:00 PHST- 2019/08/09 00:00 [received] PHST- 2019/08/27 00:00 [revised] PHST- 2019/09/18 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2019/09/28 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2019/09/29 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2019/09/29 06:01 [medline] PHST- 2019/09/25 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - polym11101559 [pii] AID - polymers-11-01559 [pii] AID - 10.3390/polym11101559 [doi] PST - epublish SO - Polymers (Basel). 2019 Sep 25;11(10):1559. doi: 10.3390/polym11101559.