Preparation and physicochemical evaluation of chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol)/pectin ternary film for food-packaging applications

Chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol)/pectin ternary film was prepared by solution casting method in this study. The prepared ternary film was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The characteristic change of shapes in the IR spectra are observed in a strong peak at 1620 cm−1 for the interchain or intermolecular ionic salt bonds between amino groups of chitosan and carboxyl groups of pectin of the ternary film. The XRD result proves that the chitosan–poly(vinyl alcohol)–pectin ternary film is crystalline. The result of SEM indicates that the surface of chitosan–poly(vinyl alcohol)–pectin ternary film is rough, and heterogeneous. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) depicts the weight losses at 200–300 °C resulting from ternary film for degradation of chitosan molecule. The microbiological screening has demonstrated the antimicrobial activity of the film against pathogenic bacteria viz., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas, and Candida albicans against the measurement of clear zone diameter included diameter of film strips, the values of which were always higher than the diameter of film strips. Overall, the ternary film happens to be a suitable material for food-packaging applications.