CHARACTERIZATION AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF NATURAL PLANT EXTRACT & NANO LOADED CHITOSAN/POLYVINYL ALCOHOL BASED COMPOSITE FILMS

We are creating composite films made of chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol that are filled with neem plant extract and NiO nanoparticles. The solution casting technique is used to produce chitosan-polyvinyl alcohol films. When chitosan was combined with polyvinyl alcohol, the water absorption of the film increased, and glutaraldehyde (0.5 ml) became used as the crosslinking agent. The compatibility of these two biopolymers was analyzed by FT-IR and XRD. The drug extract and NiO nanoparticles are characterized by UV analysis. The exact ratio of chitosan and PVA was used. Medicinal plants are widely used in everyday life for various diseases. The extraction of Azadirachta indica [neem] and NiO nanoparticles have been used as an antibacterial agent. The composite membrane was found to have the best antibacterial properties, A gelatine swelling assay was also used to evaluate swelling parameters. PVOH/CS films loaded with Neem and NiO nanoparticles were tested for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli bacteria (E. coli bacteria). These results suggest that CS/PVOH bio-composites can be used as special materials in the food packaging and biomedical industries. We analyse various analysis techniques, including SEM and TGA for the properties of the films.