Elaboration and characterization of corn starch films incorporating silver nanoparticles obtained using short glucan chains

• The silver nanoparticles with size of 2–6 nm were prepared using short glucan chains.
• The corn starch nanocomposite films with silver nanoparticles were prepared.
• Addition of silver nanoparticles improved the thermal stability of starch film.
• The nanocomposite films have a high potential for food packaging application.

Nanocomposites are being used as a new type of packaging that has good biodegradability and antibacterial ability and that has wide applicability in the preservation and storage field. Transmission electron microscopy results demonstrated that the AgNPs were spherical in shape with the diameter of 2–6 nm for 48 h reaction time. The mechanical properties of composite films increased after the incorporation of AgNPs. Differential scanning calorimetric and thermogravimetric analysis results showed that the thermal stability of silver–starch composite film was increased through incorporation with AgNPs. The composite films exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and the composite films were more effective against Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli).