Immobilization of Caraway Essential Oil in a Polypropylene Matrix for Antimicrobial Modification of a Polymeric Surface

Abstract

This study investigates antibacterial polymer composites based on polypropylene as modified by caraway essential oil at various concentrations, the latter immobilized on a talc. The caraway essential oil is incorporated in the polypropylene by a thermoplastic processing method. Analysis of the morphology of the composites was carried out by scanning electron microscopy. The chemical composition of the caraway essential oil in addition to its efficiency of incorporation and release were evaluated by GC/MS and Pyrolysis-GC/MS techniques, respectively. Determination was made as to the influence of such incorporation on thermal and tensile properties of the samples, while antibacterial activity was evaluated through conducting disk diffusion tests and measurement with adherence to the ISO 22196:2011 standard. It was found that incorporating the caraway essential oil in the samples did not affect the homogeneity of the thermoplastic-processed composites at any studied concentration. Stress–strain analysis confirmed the plasticizing effect of the essential oil in the polypropylene matrix, in addition to which, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) analysis revealed that the prepared compositions with essential oil exhibited similar thermal properties to neat polypropylene. Results indicated significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli at the concentration of essential oil of 4.9 ± 0.2 wt% and higher.

Embracing Additive Manufacturing Technology through Fused Filament Fabrication for Antimicrobial with Enhanced Formulated Materials

“…Furthermore, it is noteworthy to state that due to the sudden rise in the COVID-19 pandemic, extensive researches worldwide have been conducted focusing on the production and development of antimicrobial material just in the span of a year [ 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 ]. More and more focus has been provided on the fabrication of antimicrobial surfaces with the incorporation of polymeric base along with additives [ 18 , 46 , 91 , 92 , 93 ].…”

Environmentally Friendly and Broad–Spectrum Antibacterial Poly(hexamethylene guanidine)–Modified Polypropylene and Its Antifouling Application

“…Natural antimicrobials are extracted from animals and plants in nature and have the advantages of wide sourcing, safety, and nontoxicity [ 16 , 17 ]. For instance, Strasakova et al [ 18 ] modified polypropylene with different concentrations of caraway essential oil and fixed it on talcum powder to obtain an antibacterial PP composite. When the concentration of essential oil was 4.9 ± 0.2 wt% and higher, it had significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli .…”