Lago, M.A.Sendón, R.Rodríguez-Bernaldo de Quirós, A.Sanches-Silva, A.Costa, H.S.Sánchez-Machado, D.I.Soto Valdez, H.Angulo, I.Aurrekoetxea, G.P.Torrieri, E.López-Cervantes, J.Paseiro, P.2015-01-052015-01-052014Food Bioprocess Technol. 2014;7(10):2932–2941. doi.10.1007/s11947-014-1276-z1935-5130http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/2572The aim of this paper was to characterize chitosan samples from the shrimp shells for the later development of antimicrobial active systems. These systems include 100 % chitosan-based films obtained by casting, polyamide films with 5 and 10 % of chitosan obtained by extrusion and polyethylene/polyethylene terephthalate films with a coating of 0.6 % of chitosan. For that purpose, several analytical techniques including IR, 1H NMR, GPC, and microscopic techniques (scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy) were used. Within the studied samples, C1 showed the lowest DA and MW and consequently presented the most suitable properties for the development of an active packaging. Additionally, mechanical properties were performed. The effectiveness of the developed systems was evaluated by means of microbiological assays. The tested films showed antimicrobial capacity against coliform enterobacteria, mesophilic aerobic microorganism, and yeast and moulds.engSegurança AlimentarChitosanActive PackagingFilms CharacterizationMechanical PropertiesAntimicrobial Effectjournal article10.1007/s11947-014-1276-z