In order to improve poly(lactic acid) (PLA) mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties, different layered silicate nanoclays are added. This work deals with the study of the effect of the type of nanoclays with different hydrophilicity on the preparation procedure and properties of PLA nanocomposites. Six kinds of clays have been loaded in PLA whose hydrophilicity varies in the following order of increased hydrophilicity: modified Dellite 67G (67G) < Cloisite 15A (C15A) < C20A < C93A < C30B < hydrophilic smectite clay (HPS). Resultant nanocomposites have been characterized both with respect to bulk and surface properties by mechanical, rheological, thermal analyses, X-ray diffraction study, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gas permeability tests, contact angle measurements, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Antimicrobial properties have been also tested. Evidenced was the dependence of most properties on the hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of the clays. The nanocomposites containing the most hydrophilic clays such as Cloisite 93A, Cloisite 30B, and HPS show satisfactory antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, excepting fungus Candida albicans.

A two-step procedure was applied to obtain antimicrobial films; this procedure involved a corona treatment of the polyethylene (PE) surface and its chemical activation with 1-ethyl-3-[3-dimethylaminopropyl] carbodiimide hydrochloride and N-hydroxysuccinimide, and this led to the covalent bonding of chitosan on the PE surface. Electrochemical methods were used to investigate the stability of the deposited chitosan layer. The potentiometric and polyelectrolyte titrations showed that some amount of chitosan desorbed faster from the surface until equilibrium was reached and also that the grafted chitosan layer was more stable than the physically adsorbed one. The chitosan immobilized on the PE surface exhibited the expected antibacterial activity when tested against three bacteria, which included two Gram-negative bacteria, Salmonella enteritidis and Escherichia coli, and one Gram-positive bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes.

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was modified by CO 2 , N 2 or N 2 /H 2 plasmas, which permitted the attachment of short carboxyl or amino groups. A variation of the discharge parameters was performed, for their optimization, as well as for minimizing degradation in favour of acidic, amphiphilic or basic functionalization, respectively. The optimum parameters of discharge for CO 2 , N 2 or N 2 /H 2 plasmas were P = 50 W, gas flow rate Q = 16 × 10 −8 m 3 s −1 , exposure time t = 30-60 s, d = 0.1 m, pressure 15 Pa. The new surfaces were characterized by wettability measurements, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods. In a second step, the proteins (triglycine (TG) and protein A) were adsorbed or chemically grafted onto the carboxyl or amino functionalized surface, after EDC/NHS (1-ethyl-3-(-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide/N-hydroxysuccinimide) activation of proteins. ATR-FTIR, XPS and AFM investigations confirmed the presence of protein on the surface. The XPS C1s core levels at 286.3 eV (C-N), 288 eV (amide bond) and 298 eV (carboxylic acid), together with variation of the O1s and N1s signals, illustrated the immobilization of proteins. It was established that TG was better attached on surfaces activated with N 2 /H 2 plasma, while protein A was more tightly anchored on CO 2 , N 2 plasma-activated surfaces. The former procedure allowed higher surface densities, while the latter permitted a better chemical control. The results proved that plasma-treated PVDF is a good substrate for protein coating, which can be further used for microorganisms' detection, as evidenced by the immunoassay test.

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