Fuente: Journal of applied polymer Lugar: RESEARCH ARTICLE Schematic of the synthesis and antibacterial mechanism of ZnO/AIM/PLA film.

ABSTRACT
Poly (lactic acid) (PLA), while promising as a sustainable packaging matrix, suffers from intrinsic brittleness and microbial vulnerability that compromise its functional longevity. This work innovatively integrates 1-allyl-3-dodecylimidazolium ionic liquid (AIM) with stearic acid-modified ZnO nanoparticles (SA-ZnO) to establish a multifunctional composite film addressing these dual challenges. SA-ZnO demonstrated superior dispersion (89.76% activation index), while synergistically enhancing antibacterial efficacy through ZnO-AIM interfacial interactions, achieving 3.64–3.79 cm inhibition zones against foodborne pathogens (10.9%–20.7% improvement vs. AIM/PLA controls). Migration kinetics analysis revealed that the homogeneous dispersion of ZnO created tortuous paths, thereby suppressing AIM migration via a physical barrier mechanism, which decreased AIM equilibrium migration by 0.7%–7.7% across food simulants. The optimized system maintained mechanical integrity (> 30 MPa tensile strength) while demonstrating environment-dependent migration hierarchies (deionized water > 10% ethanol > 4% acetic acid > n-hexane). This multicomponents design strategy provides a new route for designing novel PLA-based composite packaging materials with high antibacterial activity and controllable release of antibacterial agent.