Preparation and characterization of active emulsified films based on chitosan-carboxymethyl cellulose containing zinc oxide nano particles

•Active nanocomposite films were elaborated by ZnO NPs incorporated into CMC-CH-OL emulsified films.•Morphological, mechanical, thermal, water barrier, optical and antifungal properties were determined.•ZnO NPs improved water vapor permeability of the films.•CMC-CH-OL-ZnO nanocomposite films absorbed almost 100% of UV at 280 nm.•Incorporation of ZnO NPs has improved antifungal activity of the films against Aspergillus niger.

Active nanocomposites based on carboxymethyl cellulose-chitosan-oleic acid (CMC-CH-OL) incorporated with different concentrations (0.5-2 wt.%) of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were produced by casting method. The effects of ZnO NPs on the morphological, mechanical, thermal, physical and antifungal properties of the films were studied. New interaction between ZnO NPs and polymer matrix were confirmed by Fourier Transform infrared. After addition of ZnO NPs, tensile strength, lightness (L*) and thermal stability decreased however, elongation at break, contact angle, a* (greenness) and b* (yellowness) of the nanocomposite films increased in comparison to the films without nano-filler. UV transmittance at 280 nm decreased from 17.3% to 0.2, 0.1 and 0.1 for the nanocomposite films containing 0.5, 1 and 2 wt.% ZnO NPs, respectively, suggesting higher UV blocking properties. Disc diffusion test showed considerable antifungal properties of the active nanocomposite films against Aspergillus niger, especially in CMC-CH-OL-ZnO 2 wt.% by more than 40% fungal growth inhibition.