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Functional Biocomposites Based on Plasticized Starch/halloysite Nanotubes for Drug‐Release Applications
Author(s) -
Ren Jiawei,
Han Lei,
Cai Haifeng,
Wu Kai,
Avérous Luc,
Guo Weihong
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
starch ‐ stärke
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1521-379X
pISSN - 0038-9056
DOI - 10.1002/star.201700358
Subject(s) - halloysite , vanillin , materials science , plasticizer , chemical engineering , ultimate tensile strength , thermal stability , starch , biocomposite , kinetics , biopolymer , controlled release , composite material , nuclear chemistry , polymer , organic chemistry , composite number , chemistry , nanotechnology , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Functional biocomposites are elaborated by melt‐blending plasticized starch with halloysite nanotubes for drug‐release applications. Halloysite nanotubes are used as nanoscale containers for vanillin storage. The ATR‐IR results showed that vanillin is successfully loaded into halloysite nanotubes. The drug‐loading efficiency is approximately 8 wt%, as shown by TGA and UV‐VIS spectrometry. The effects of the surrounding environment and the matrix type on vanillin release kinetics and drug‐release mechanisms are carefully evaluated. A relationship between the vanillin release kinetics and plasticizer type is observed. The vanillin release mechanisms are studied by fitting experimental data to three different model equations. Best fit is obtained with an anomalous law (non‐Fickian). Finally, the uniaxial tensile test shows that incorporation of vanillin does not significantly affect the tensile properties. The TGA results show a slight decrease in the thermal stability of the biocomposites after the addition of vanillin. This paper presents a simple strategy to prepare starch‐based films with high value with, for example, antimicrobial and/or flavor release properties, which could have strong potential for several applications, such as active and renewable packaging or even biomedical materials.