TY - JOUR
T1 - Production of Silver Nano-Inks and Surface Coatings for Anti-Microbial Food Packaging and Its Ecological Impact
AU - Manikandan, N. Arul
AU - McCann, Ronan
AU - Kakavas, Dimitrios
AU - Rochfort, Keith D.
AU - Sreenilayam, Sithara P.
AU - Alkan, Godze
AU - Stornetta, Tom
AU - McGivern, Allan Robert
AU - Grintzalis, Konstantinos
AU - Friedrich, Bernd
AU - Foley, Greg
AU - Brabazon, Dermot
AU - Freeland, Brian
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/3/10
Y1 - 2023/3/10
N2 - Food spoilage is an ongoing global issue that contributes to rising carbon dioxide emissions and increased demand for food processing. This work developed anti-bacterial coatings utilising inkjet printing of silver nano-inks onto food-grade polymer packaging, with the potential to enhance food safety and reduce food spoilage. Silver nano-inks were synthesised via laser ablation synthesis in solution (LaSiS) and ultrasound pyrolysis (USP). The silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) produced using LaSiS and USP were characterised using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectrophotometry and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. The laser ablation technique, operated under recirculation mode, produced nanoparticles with a small size distribution with an average diameter ranging from 7-30 nm. Silver nano-ink was synthesised by blending isopropanol with nanoparticles dispersed in deionised water. The silver nano-inks were printed on plasma-cleaned cyclo-olefin polymer. Irrespective of the production methods, all silver nanoparticles exhibited strong antibacterial activity against E. coli with a zone of inhibition exceeding 6 mm. Furthermore, silver nano-inks printed cyclo-olefin polymer reduced the bacterial cell population from 1235 (±45) × 106 cell/mL to 960 (±110) × 106 cell/mL. The bactericidal performance of silver-coated polymer was comparable to that of the penicillin-coated polymer, wherein a reduction in bacterial population from 1235 (±45) × 106 cell/mL to 830 (±70) × 106 cell/mL was observed. Finally, the ecotoxicity of the silver nano-ink printed cyclo-olefin polymer was tested with daphniids, a species of water flea, to simulate the release of coated packaging into a freshwater environment.
AB - Food spoilage is an ongoing global issue that contributes to rising carbon dioxide emissions and increased demand for food processing. This work developed anti-bacterial coatings utilising inkjet printing of silver nano-inks onto food-grade polymer packaging, with the potential to enhance food safety and reduce food spoilage. Silver nano-inks were synthesised via laser ablation synthesis in solution (LaSiS) and ultrasound pyrolysis (USP). The silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) produced using LaSiS and USP were characterised using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectrophotometry and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. The laser ablation technique, operated under recirculation mode, produced nanoparticles with a small size distribution with an average diameter ranging from 7-30 nm. Silver nano-ink was synthesised by blending isopropanol with nanoparticles dispersed in deionised water. The silver nano-inks were printed on plasma-cleaned cyclo-olefin polymer. Irrespective of the production methods, all silver nanoparticles exhibited strong antibacterial activity against E. coli with a zone of inhibition exceeding 6 mm. Furthermore, silver nano-inks printed cyclo-olefin polymer reduced the bacterial cell population from 1235 (±45) × 106 cell/mL to 960 (±110) × 106 cell/mL. The bactericidal performance of silver-coated polymer was comparable to that of the penicillin-coated polymer, wherein a reduction in bacterial population from 1235 (±45) × 106 cell/mL to 830 (±70) × 106 cell/mL was observed. Finally, the ecotoxicity of the silver nano-ink printed cyclo-olefin polymer was tested with daphniids, a species of water flea, to simulate the release of coated packaging into a freshwater environment.
KW - antibacterial
KW - food packaging
KW - laser ablation
KW - silver nanoparticles
KW - ultrasound pyrolysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85151114186&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijms24065341
DO - 10.3390/ijms24065341
M3 - Article
C2 - 36982412
AN - SCOPUS:85151114186
SN - 1422-0067
VL - 24
JO - International journal of molecular sciences
JF - International journal of molecular sciences
IS - 6
M1 - 5341
ER -