Rukmanikrishnan, B. - Department of Fiber System Engineering, Yeungnam University, South Korea.
Rajasekharan, S.K. - Department of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, South Korea; Department of Food Sciences, Institute of Postharvest Technology and Food Sciences, The Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel.
Lee, J. - Department of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, South Korea.
Ramalingam, S. - Department of Food Science and Technology, Yeungnam University, South Korea.
Lee, J. - Department of Fiber System Engineering, Yeungnam University, South Korea.
K-carrageenan (K-C) and lignin (L) based composite films were prepared by the solution casting method. The structure and morphology of the prepared composites were characterized by FT-IR, XRD and SEM analysis. The neat K-C compared to K-C/L composite films revealed considerable improvement in the mechanical properties and thermal stability. But the addition of a considerably high proportion of lignin formed small aggregates in the composite films that moderately weakened the polymer structure thus mitigating the mechanical properties. The WVP of the K-C/L-30 composite films reduced from 2.59 to 1.41 × 10−9gm/m2 Pas and contact angle increased from 58.7 to 78.5° due to the surface hydrophobicity of the k-C film increased by the addition of lignin particles. The UV barrier properties of K-C/L composite films showed almost 100 % protection in the whole UV region. The lignin seemed to be having an efficient and promising radical scavenging effect in K-C/L composites. The K-C/L composites effectively inhibit the biofilm formation by the Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermis strain without compromising the planktonic counterparts. The K-C/L composites did not show any significant cytotoxicity against Caenorhabditis elegans. This work elucidates the importance of lignin in K-C for food packaging films and biomedical applications.
