Surface modifications of some nanocomposites containing starch

Polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites have attracted strong interest in today's materials research, due to the possible impressive enhancements of material properties, comparatively with those of pure polymers. Several starch/poly(vinylalcohol)/montmorillonite nanocomposites have been subjected to surface modification by physical treatments such as dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) exposure and coating with proteins (albumin) or polysaccharides (chitosan), for improving their biocompatibility. Untreated and treated surfaces have been comparatively studied by contact angle measurements, FT-IR and 2D-FT-IR spectroscopy and optical microscopy. It has been established that enhancement of the surface characteristics depends on the type and number of incorporated nanoparticles as well as on the treatment applied. Coupling of DBD exposure and coating techniques appears to be highly efficient