An article published on August 11, 2017 by news provider Science Daily reported on plastic films with antibiofilm activity that can prevent bacterial contamination in the food and biomedical industries. The plastic films were developed by researchers Andrea Cossu and colleagues from the University of California, Davis, U.S., who presented their work in a scientific study published in the peer-reviewed journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Cossu and colleagues integrated N-halamine moieties within the polymer matrix of poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (PVA-co-PE) plastic. “N-halamines are composed of a nitrogen and a chlorine atom” and “can kill bacteria on contact, or by releasing the chlorine to kill the bacteria,” Science Daily explained. According to the researchers, the plastic films are versatile and can be formed into different shapes “such as conveyor belts, self-sanitizing globes, plastic bins for food transport, or a plastic mat for biomedical tools.” Further, the plastic films could also be “added to existing equipment as a lining material.”
Read more
Science Daily (August 11, 2017). “Plastic films incorporating N-halamines could sanitize food production facilities.”
Reference
Cossu, A. et al. (2017). “Antibiofilm effect of poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (PVA-co-PE) halamine film against Listeria innocua and Escherichia coli O157:H7.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology (published online August 11, 2017).
