The fabrication of a novel film based on polycaprolactone incorporated with chitosan and rutin: potential as an antibacterial carrier for rainbow trout packaging

Rutin and chitosan could be utilized in the food industry owing to their antioxidant and antibacterial properties. This study was carried out to fabricate novel films using polycaprolactone (PCL-sole), PCL and chitosan (PCL-CS), PCL and rutin (PCL-R), and PCL, chitosan, and rutin (PCL-CS-R) through electros pinning method. Physical properties, in vitro antibacterial and antioxidant properties of the films, and their antibacterial activity on rainbow trout were further investigated. The PCL-CS, PCL-R, and PCL-CS-R had smaller fiber diameter and film thickness and lower viscosity while they showed higher surface tension, water contact angle, and conductivity and better antibacterial and antioxidant properties compared with PCL-sole film ( P  < 0.05). The PCL-CS-R film respectively decreased 17.45%, 19.27%, and 18.39% more populations of L. monocytogenes , S. aureus , and E. coli compared to PCL-sole film in the fish samples. Therefore, the PCL-CS-R film can be potentially used in active packaging because of its antioxidant and antibacterial activities.