Characterization of soluble soybean (SSPS) polysaccharide and development of eco-friendly SSPS/TiO₂ nanoparticle...

This research aims to characterization of soluble soybean polysaccharide (SSPS) and development of a biodegradable SSPS nanocomposites prepared using various concentrations of TiO₂ nanoparticles. ¹³C NMR suggested that backbone of SSPS is rhamnogalacturonan [1→4)-α-GalAp-(1/2)-α Rhap(1→]. Weight average molecular weight, number average molecular weight (Mn) and polydispersity index (PDI) of SSPS were found to be 2.54×10⁶g/mol, 5.54×10⁶g/mol, and 4.5, respectively. The intrinsic viscosity of SSPS (0.33) was lower than most of hydrocolloids. With increasing TiO₂ concentration, the water solubility, moisture content and water-vapor permeability (WVP) of SSPS-based nanocomposite films decreased. TiO₂ addition led to an increase in the melting temperature to a maximum of 132°C for the SSPS nanocomposite with 5wt% TiO₂. With increasing TiO₂ concentrations from 5 to 15wt%, the melting temperature declined from 24 to 19°C. There were no significant agglomerates when the TiO₂ concentrations were increased to 5wt%; however, when the concentration reached 15wt%, agglomerations were observed. With addition of TiO₂ nanoparticles, tensile strength increased but elongation at break decreased. SSPS-based nanocomposite films demonstrated a promising range of antimicrobial activity. The current research clearly introduces a new antimicrobial composite which is potentially useful to prevent and treat infections.