The objective of this research was to determine the effect of sugar or fatty acid in sugar ester compounds on the surface-active properties and antimicrobial activities of these compounds. Disaccharides of medium-chain fatty acid monoesters were synthesized through transesterifications by immobilized lipase (Lipozyme TLIM) to yield nine monoesters for subsequent study. Their antimicrobial activities were investigated using three pathogenic microorganisms: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Candida albicans. Their surface-active properties including air–water surface tension, critical micelle concentration, and foaming and emulsion power and stability were also studied. The results showed that all of the tested monoesters were more effective against Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive bacterium) than against Escherichia coli O157:H7 (Gram-negative bacterium). The results demonstrated that the carbon chain length was the most important factor influencing the surface properties, whereas degree of esterification and hydrophilic groups showed little effect.

Attempts were made to solubilize thymol in Tween 80 micelle to study the solubilization mechanism of thymol and the effect of solubilization on its antioxidant activity. The maximum solubilized concentration of thymol in a 2.0% (w/v) Tween 80 micelle solution is 0.2 wt%. There was no significant difference in Z-average diameter between the empty micelles and thymol solubilized micelles. 1H NMR spectra indicated that 3-H and 4-H on the benzene ring of thymol interacted with the ester group between the hydrophilic head group and the hydrophobic tail group of Tween 80 by Van der Waals’ force. Ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) and cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) assays showed that the reducing antioxidant activity of free thymol did not change after solubilized in Tween 80 micelles. Compared to free thymol, the solubilized thymol showed higher activities to scavenge DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and hydroxyl radicals. The present study suggested a possible preparation of thymol-carrying micelles with enhanced antioxidant activities that could be applied in food beverages.

In this study, chitosan/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/lauric arginate (LAE) composite nanofibrous films were fabricated via electrospinning. The addition of LAE did not change the physical properties of chitosan/PEO in acetic aqueous solutions, but increased the fluorescent intensity of chitosan by electrostatic interactions, resulting in uniform and bead-free nanofibers with an average diameter of 150 nm. The Fourier transform infrared spectra and thermal analysis indicated that the LAE molecules were homogeneously dispersed within the chitosan/PEO nanofibers. The formation of electrostatic and hydrogen bonding interactions induced by the LAE addition changed the inter- and intramolecular interactions between PEO and chitosan and further affected the mobility of the polymer molecules, leading to the increased crystallinity and decreased melting point. The hydrophilicity of the nanofibrous films was significantly increased by the incorporation of LAE, as indicated by the decreasing water contact angle from 39° to 10°. Meanwhile, the chitosan/PEO/LAE nanofibrous films showed LAE concentration dependent antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, suggesting enhanced antimicrobial activity. The fluorescent staining experiments demonstrated that the antimicrobial mechanism of the nanofibrous films was cell membrane damage.

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BACKGROUND: In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the use of biopolymer electrospun nanofibers for various food applications due to the biocompatibility, biodegradability, and high loading capacity. Herein, we fabricated and characterized novel hybrid electrospun fibers from dextran (50%, w/v) and zein (0-30%, w/v) solutions, and the effects of various zein concentrations on the properties of the hybrid electrospun fibers were investigated. RESULTS: When zein was added at low concentrations (5% and 10%), dextran and zein showed poor miscibility, as reflected by significantly decreased viscosity of the solutions, and the poor mechanical properties of the derived fiber membranes. When zein was added at medium concentrations (15-25%), hydrogen bonds were formed between dextran and zein molecules, as indicated by the red shift of Fourier-transform infrared bands and ⊎-sheet to ⊍-helix structural transformations. The fiber membranes electrospun from a solution with 25% zein showed the most hydrophobic surface, with a water contact angle of 116.9°. The homogenous dispersion of dextran and zein resulted in improved mechanical properties for fibers electrospun from a solution with 30% zein. Curcumin encapsulating dextran/zein electrospun fibers exhibited effective radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing power, along with the desired controlled release behavior for curcumin delivery.CONCLUSION: Food grade dextran/zein hybrid electrospun fibers demonstrated tunable properties, and appear to be promising as delivery systems for bioactive and edible antimicrobial food packaging.

The structure-activity relationship of a U-type antimicrobial microemulsion system containing glycerol monolaurate and ethanol at a 1∶1 mass ratio as oil phase and Tween 20 as surfactant were investigated along a water dilution line at a ratio of 80∶20 mass% surfactant/oil phase, based on a pseudo-ternary phase diagram. The differential scanning calorimetry results showed that in the region of up to 33% water, all water molecules are confined to the hydrophilic core of the reverse micelles, leading to the formation of w/o microemulsion. As the water content increases, the water gains mobility, and transforms into bicontinuous in the region of 33–39% water, and finally the microemulsion become o/w in the region of above 39% water. The microstructure characterization was confirmed by the dynamic light scattering measurements and freeze-fracture transmission electron microscope observation. The antimicrobial activity assay using kinetics of killing analysis demonstrated that the microemulsions in w/o regions exhibited relatively high antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus due to the antimicrobial oil phase as the continuous phase, while the antimicrobial activity started to decrease when the microemulsions entered the bicontinuous region, and decreased rapidly as the water content increased in the o/w region, as a result of the dilution of antimicrobial oil droplets in the aqueous continuous phase.

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