Bio-Wax Latex-Modified Paper as Antimicrobial and Water-Vapor-Resistant Packaging Material.

Beeswax and carnauba wax latex particles grafted with antimicrobial agents polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride and polyhexanide were prepared by coupling reaction using N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N’-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride as a coupling reagent. As a bifunctional agent for the surface treatment of paper the modified bio-wax latex improved the property of water-vapor resistance and antimicrobial activities of paper significantly after coating. Compared with the control sample the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of the paper with coating weight of 12 g/m2was reduced significantly from 2788.8 g/m2/d to 222.0 g/m2/d (BW-Gly-PHGH) thus demonstrating excellent water vapor barrier performance. The shaking flask method was utilized to investigate the antimicrobial activity againstE. coli. The results showed that antimicrobial performance was improved substantially when the amount of added modified bio-wax particles was higher than 20 mg/g fiber. The bacterial inhibition ring test indicated that the antimicrobial mode of the modified bio-wax particles was likely based on the contact mode. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]