Poly(ε-caprolactone) nanofibrous mats containing clove oil loaded halloysite nanotubes: Structure-property relationships and multi-criteria optimization
Polymer Testing, cilt.163, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 163
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2026.109369
- Dergi Adı: Polymer Testing
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Compendex, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Engineering Source (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Antimicrobial activity, Clove essential oil, Halloysite nanotubes, Multi-criteria decision making, Nanofibrous food packaging
- Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Clove essential oil (CEO) offers antimicrobial functionality for potential active packaging application, but its volatility presents a challenge for sustained delivery. In this study, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibrous mats containing CEO loaded halloysite nanotubes (HNTCEO) were developed by electro-blown spinning. The HNTCEO hybrid nanofiller contained approximately 11 wt% CEO, as determined by thermogravimetric analysis. The effects of different HNTCEO loadings on the morphological, thermal, mechanical, barrier, and surface properties of the nanofibrous mats were systematically investigated. Low HNTCEO loadings maintained a relatively uniform fibrous structure, whereas higher loadings increased fiber diameter and structural irregularities. The incorporation of 0.5 wt% HNTCEO increased the tensile strength of the PCL mats from 1.71 to 3.42 MPa. Thermal analysis showed that the highest degradation onset temperature, 355 °C, was obtained at 1 wt% HNTCEO. A weighted sum model was used to evaluate the formulations based on their mechanical, thermal, barrier, morphological, and surface properties, and the formulation containing 0.5 wt% HNTCEO was identified as having the most balanced overall performance. Release studies conducted under dry conditions showed that, after 96 h, pure CEO, HNTCEO, and the selected PCL/HNTCEO mat released approximately 98%, 62%, and 34% of their initial CEO contents, respectively. The selected formulation reduced the viable counts of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli by more than 99.98% and completely inhibited visible fungal growth of Aspergillus niger for four weeks. These findings demonstrate the potential of electro-blown-spun PCL/HNTCEO nanofibrous mats for active packaging applications.