Development and characterization of biodegradable nanocomposite films incorporating natural antimicrobial agents for dairy product Ainur

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Applied Biotechnology, Almaty Technological University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

2 Department of Chemistry and Food Technology, K.Zhubanov Aktobe regional university, Aktobe, Kazakhstan

3 Department of Food Safety and Quality, Almaty Technological University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

4 Department "Biology, Plant Protection and Quarantine" of Saken Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical Research University, Kazakhstan

5 Head of the Biotechnology Laboratory at the Research Institute of Biotechnology and Ecology, Zhetysu University named after I.Zhansugurov, Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan

6 Department of Oncology Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

10.22124/cjes.2026.9786

Abstract

Currently, the environmental issues arising due to pollution with plastic packaging waste in the food industry have turned into a critical problem for developing countries like Kazakhstan. The objective of this study was to create and test the properties of nanocomposite biodegradable films consisting of polylactic acid and starch, loaded with montmorillonite nanoclay and thyme essential oil as a part of the development of dairy packaging films. Films were produced using solvent casting technique at various concentrations of nanoclay (1, 3, and 5 wt%) and thyme essential oil (2 wt%), and tested for their mechanical, barrier, structural, antimicrobial, and practical properties. It has been found that films with 5 wt% of nanoclay demonstrated increased tensile strength by 70% (18.4 to 31.2 MPa) and decreased water vapor permeability by 50% (42.8 to 18.4 g m-2 day-1). SEM and XRD analyses demonstrated the appropriate distribution of nanoparticles and increased interlayer distance from 1.52 to 1.82 nm. Films with thyme essential oil possessed good antimicrobial effect against Staphylococcus aureus (halo diameter 19.2 mm) and Escherichia coli (15.6 mm). According to the experiment conducted in refrigerated conditions of milk package testing, the improved film (NC3-TO) decreased the total amount of microorganisms to 68.5 log CFU mL-1 on the 21st day of storage while 56.8 log CFU mL-1 were obtained using traditional polyethylene packages (p < 0.001). Thus, the shelf life increased by seven days. Nanocomposite films designed during this research might be a good replacement for conventional plastics in the Kazakhstan dairy market.
 

Keywords

References

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Caspian Journal of Environmental Sciences
Volume 24, Issue 3
July 2026
Pages 729-736

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