Biological properties and biodegradation studies of chitosan biofilms plasticized with PEG and glycerol

Chitosan biofilms, prepared by casting method at various percentage of plasticizer (PEG and glycerol), were evaluated for their biological, structural and thermal properties. The addition of PEG at 30% (w/w) and glycerol at 10% (w/w) to chitosan has increased the antioxidant activity of biofilm with the percentages of 22 and 26%, respectively. The increase of ferric reducing power was noted for the mixtures of chitosan–PEG (70–30) and chitosan–GLY (75–25). Additionally, the antibacterial properties of several biofilms were tested against E. coli and S. aureus. Biofilms with 70–30 and 90–10 blends ratio of chitosan–PEG and chitosan–GLY showed the best inhibitory effect against E. coli and S. aureus with 12 and 27%, respectively. All biofilms were degraded in compost in liquid and the addition of plasticizer PEG to chitosan increased his biodegradability with a value of BOD5 about 2.33 O2/mg CO.FT-IR spectra showed that the addition of plasticizer promoted the interactions through hydrogen bonding as reflected on the shifting of main peaks but there is no effect on biodegradation.