Providing Antimicrobial Properties to Cardboard Food Packaging by Coating with ZnO, TiO2, and SiO2—Water-Based Varnish Nanocomposites

Abstract

Packaging acts like a bond between visual communication and production technology. Packaging material is often coated to enhance visual appearance and some protective features. The COVID pandemic changed consumers’ behavior and understanding of the importance regarding the antimicrobial properties of goods that come in contact with hands. The aim of this research is to investigate and determine the antimicrobial properties of nanocomposite coatings which include nanosized zinc oxide (ZnO), titanium dioxide (TiO2), and silicon dioxide (SiO2). For the purpose of this research, a lithographic printed packaging was coated with a nanocomposite composed of flexographic water-based varnish with incorporated ZnO, TiO2, and SiO2 nanosized particles. A total of eight modulations were presented and compared to the lone water-based varnish. The results have shown that applying nanocomposites will increase the total surface free energy of the packaging surface but will decrease the polar component of the surface free energy leading to lower hydrophilic properties. Both nanocomposite types showed that the increase in the nanoparticle weight ratio leads to higher protection benefits. Nanocomposites with ZnO have better antimicrobial activity than the ones with TiO2. The Hybrid/Z (ZnO + SiO2) significantly improved the antimicrobial capacity of water-based varnish, primarily against the ubiquitous foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes.

Recent advances in the use of composite titanium dioxide nanomaterials in the food industry

“…TiO 2 nanomaterials have received increased attention as promising antibacterial and antifungal agents due to they exhibit long term antimicrobial activity against a wide spectrum of pathogenic microorganisms, such as Salmonella , Escherichia coli , Campylobacter , Listeria monocytogenes , and Staphylococcus aureus . The antibacterial mechanism of TiO 2 primarily involves the generation of destructive reactive oxygen species (Kovář, 2016; Mesgari et al., 2021; Tomislav et al., 2022). TiO 2 nanomaterials exhibit strong antibacterial properties and, therefore, can be used to deactivate microbes in food to ensure food safety (Hudika et al., 2022; Mesgari et al., 2021).…”

“…The antibacterial mechanism of TiO 2 primarily involves the generation of destructive reactive oxygen species (Kovář, 2016; Mesgari et al., 2021; Tomislav et al., 2022). TiO 2 nanomaterials exhibit strong antibacterial properties and, therefore, can be used to deactivate microbes in food to ensure food safety (Hudika et al., 2022; Mesgari et al., 2021). Moreover, TiO 2 nanomaterials can be combined with other materials to form composite nanomaterials, which can further enhance their antibacterial effectiveness (Salarbashi et al., 2018; Siripatrawan & Kaewklin, 2018; Tang et al., 2018; Tavakolian et al., 2021; Xiong et al., 2019).…”

“…Studies have focused on the migration and toxicity of TiO 2 NPs in the body. In one study, long‐term ingestion of food containing 0.1% TiO 2 NPs caused abnormal activation of macrophages and disrupted the immune balance, leading to adverse health effects in mice (Huang et al., 2017). In another study, Sprague–Dawley rats were orally exposed to TiO 2 NPs for 30 days, the experimental results showed that oral exposure to TiO 2 NPs can cause dysbiosis in gut microbiota and related metabolism, which may play an important role in the toxicity mechanism induced by TiO 2 NPs (Chen et al., 2019).…”