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INCORPORATION OF PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS IN PHB NANOFIBERS WITH POTENTIAL ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY

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Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a biopolymer synthesized by microalgae that can be applied in the production of nanofibers by electrospinning process. The microalga also produces phenolic compounds that present biological activities as antifungal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. The objective of the study was to produce PHB nanofibers with addition of microalgal phenolic compounds. PHB and phenolic compounds were extracted from the biomass of Spirulina sp. LEB 18. The polymer solutions were subjected to electrospinning. The development of the nanofibers was possible with the solution of 35% microalgal PHB, 2.4% NaCl and 1% phenolic compounds. The uniform and dropless nanofibers had an average diameter of 814 ± 91 nm with potential use in food packaging because they can improve the barrier properties in order to hamper the gases and vapors permeation, as well as contribute to the mechanical properties. In addition, phenolic compounds have potential antibacterial activity which suggests increases the shelf life of the food and gives greater safety to the consumer.