A general approach to describe the antimicrobial agent release from highly swellable films intended for food packaging applications

A mathematical model able to describe the release kinetics of antimicrobial agents from crosslinked polyvinylalcohol (PVOH) into water is presented. The model was developed by taking into account the diffusion of water molecules into the polymeric film, the counter-diffusion of the incorporated antimicrobial agent from the film into water, and the polymeric matrix swelling kinetic. To validate the model the water sorption kinetics as well as the release kinetics of three antimicrobial agents (i.e., lysozyme, nisin and sodium benzoate, all approved to be used in contact with food) were determined at ambient temperature (25°C). The three investigated active agents were entrapped in four films of PVOH with a different degree of crosslink. The model was successfully used to fit all the above sets of data, corroborating the validity of the hypothesis made to derive it. © 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.