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. 2020 Jun 4;12(6):1289. doi: 10.3390/polym12061289

Table 2.

A summary of biopolymer films with antimicrobial activity.

Active Agents Type of Biopolymer Matrix Concentration of Active Agents Antimicrobial Activity Ref.
chitosan/gallic acid NPs konjac glucomannan 5–15% ↑ in antimicrobial activity against S. aureus (up to ~20 mm of inhibition zone) and E. coli (up to ~13 mm) at 15% NPs [70]
cinnamon essential oil fish gelatin 0.5–6% ↑ in antimicrobial and antifungal activity against E. coli (up to ~39 mm); S. aureus (up to ~40 mm); A. niger (up to ~55 mm); R. oryzae (up to ~70 mm) and P. variotii (up to ~52 mm) [71]
summer savory
essential oil		 carboxymethyl cellulose/agar 0.5–1.5% ↑ in inhibition zone:
  • -

    B. cereus (from 0 to 35.71 mm)

  • -

    S. aureus (from 0 to 47.48 mm)

  • -

    L. monocytogenes (from 0 to 30.67)

  • -

    E. coli (from 0 to 25.01 mm)

 [72]
frankincense
essential oil		 carboxymethyl cellulose/chitosan biguanidine hydrochloride 1–5% ↑ in inhibition zone:
  • -

    S. pneumonia (from 19.68 to 22.56 mm)

  • -

    B. subtilis (from 18.23 to 27.48 mm)

  • -

    E. coli (from 13.5 to 18.48 mm)

 [73]
apple peel
polyphenols		 chitosan 0.25–1% ↑ in inhibition zone:
  • -

    E. coli (from 7.51 to 16.12 mm)

  • -

    B. cereus (from 9.38 to 19.46 mm)

  • -

    S. aureus (from 8.73 to 18.11 mm)

  • -

    S. typhimurium (from 5.82 to 14.47 mm)

 [74]
  • -

    pomegranate flesh extract (PFE)

  • -

    pomegranate peel extract (PPE)

 κ-carrageenan 1–4% For κ-carrageenan with PFE:
  • -

    ↑ in inhibition zone for E. coli (5.26–6.37 mm), Salmonella (5.22–6.25 mm); S. aureus (5.14–5.58 mm); L. monocytogenes (5.12–5.65 mm)

For κ-carrageenan with PPE:
  • -

    ↑ in inhibition zone for E. coli (5.45–6.98 mm), Salmonella (5.57–7.04 mm); S. aureus (5.42–6.26 mm); L. monocytogenes (5.36–6.42 mm)

 [75]
cellulose nanowhiskers chitosan/xylan 0–16%
  • -

    during incubation, the optical density values were suppressed against E. coli and S. aureus

 [76]
  • -

    AgNPs

  • -

    CuNPs

  • -

    ZnONPs

 starch 0.67–3%
  • -

    films with Ag, ZnO and CuO NPs significantly reduced the CFU count of S. aureus and E. coli (within the range of 72–97%)

  • -

    films with AgNPs (at a concentration of 3%) showed the highest antimicrobial activity against both E. coli (by 97.27%) and S. aureus (by 95.41%) compared to films with a single type of NPs

  • -

    starch films with a combination of 3 types of NPs (with a total weight of 2 wt %) most effectively inhibited bacterial growth (reduction within the range of 91–94%)

  • -

    a 4-fold increase in the antimicrobial activity of Ag-ZnO–CuNPs films against S. aureus and a 2-fold increase against E. coli compared to using films with single NPs

 [65]
  • -

    chitosan nanofiber (CHNF)

  • -

    zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs)

 gelatin CHNF—10%
ZnONPs—5%		 ↑ in inhibition zone:
  • -

    E. coli (15.06 mm—ZnONPs; 25.06 mm—ZnONPs + CHNF)

  • -

    S. aureus (30.62 mm—ZnONPs; 33.13 mm—ZnONPs + CHNF)

  • -

    P. aeruginosa (10.7 mm—ZnONPs; 12.95 mm—ZnONPs + CHNF)

 [62]