Functionalization of chitosan by a free radical reaction: Characterization, antioxidant and antibacterial potential

•Chitosan functionalized with EGCG by a free radical-induced grafting procedure was developed.•Functionalized chitosan showed thermal stability at temperatures higher than 150 °C.•Functionalized chitosan showed antibacterial activity higher than pure EGCG or pure chitosan.•Functionalized chitosan showed higher antioxidant activity than blank chitosan.

Chitosan was functionalized with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) by a free radical-induced grafting procedure, which was carried out by a redox pair (ascorbic acid/hydrogen peroxide) as the radical initiator. The successful preparation of EGCG grafted-chitosan was verified by spectroscopic (UV, FTIR and XPS) and thermal (DSC and TGA) analyses. The degree of grafting of phenolic compounds onto the chitosan was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu procedure. Additionally, the biological activities (antioxidant and antibacterial) of pure EGCG, blank chitosan and EGCG grafted-chitosan were evaluated. The spectroscopic and thermal results indicate chitosan functionalization with EGCG; the EGCG content was 25.8 mg/g of EGCG grafted-chitosan. The antibacterial activity of the EGCG grafted-chitosan was increased compared to pure EGCG or blank chitosan against S. aureus and Pseudomonas sp. (p < 0.05). Additionally, EGCG grafted-chitosan showed higher antioxidant activity than blank chitosan. These results indicate that EGCG grafted-chitosan might be useful in active food packaging.