Bacterial cellulose films with ZnO nanoparticles and propolis extracts: Synergistic antimicrobial effect

This study aimed to obtain possible materials for future antimicrobial food packaging applications based on biodegradable bacterial cellulose (BC). BC is a fermentation product obtained by Gluconacetobacter xylinum using food or agricultural wastes as substrate. In this work we investigated the synergistic effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and propolis extracts deposited on BC. ZnO NPs were generated in the presence of ultrasounds directly on the surface of BC films. The BC-ZnO composites were further impregnated with ethanolic propolis extracts (EEP) with different concentrations.The composition of raw propolis and EEP were previously determined by gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS), while the antioxidant activity was evaluated by TEAC (Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity). The analysis methods performed on BC-ZnO composites such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermo-gravimetrically analysis (TGA), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) proved that ZnO NPs were formed and embedded in the whole structure of BC films. The BC-ZnO-propolis films were characterized by SEM and X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS) in order to investigate the surface modifications. The antimicrobial synergistic effect of the BC-ZnO-propolis films were evaluated against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Candida albicans. The experimental results revealed that BC-ZnO had no influence on Gram-negative and eukaryotic cells.