NEW

POLYMERIC

MATERIALS

BASED

ON

CELLULOSE

ACTETATE/MMTCU2+ FOR FOOD PACKAGING J.E.Bruna, M. Jose Galotto, A. Guarda, F. J. Rodriguez The use of polymeric materials in food packaging, has been replacing traditional materials such as glass and metal, however the great majority of such materials are not biodegradable, which has led to a major environmental problem. This is why it has been a great interest in biodegradable biopolymers, which represents a less toxic material to the environment and therefore more eco-friendly, but its use has been limited by its poor mechanical and barrier properties. So, the use of nanoparticles could be an alternative to improve these deficiencies. These new nanocomposites would allow producing ecofriendly materials and also may increase the barrier of some gases. The aim of the present work is to develop a new material based in Cellulose cetate !C " with nanoparticles of copper, !montmorillonite modified with Cu #$". The nanocomposites were prepared using casting solution techni%ue, being the Cellulose cetate the main component and the montmorillonite modified with copper, by ion exchange, the minority component. The evidence of intercalation was demonstrated by means of &-ray diffraction analysis, and the incorporation of copper was %uantified by tomic bsorption Spectrometry. The interlaminar spacing of unmodified clay !d''(" increases from (.() to (.#( nm when the clay was treated with Cu#$, showing the incorporation of copper into the laminar space. The modified clay was used to produce nanocomposites with C at different composition, using casting solution techni%ue. The aim of using nanoparticles of copper is to improve the mechanical properties and provide antimicrobial properties to cellulose acetate polymer. These samples were characteri*ed by mechanical properties, antimicrobial activity and thermal properties. Through this study it was possible to show antimicrobial activity in the nanocomposites obtained, as well as its new properties.