Design and Development of Poly Lactic Acid (PLA)/Mango Seed Kernel Starch Composites Films

PLA is biodegradable and bioactive thermoplastic aliphatic polyester derived from renewable sources and mango seed kernel starch also being a biodegradable and nutritive material; an eco friendly, biodegradable bio compound was prepared by using PLA and mango seed kernel starch. The compound was made having varying composition of unmodified mango seed kernel starch and modified mango seed kernel starch viz. 5%, 10%, 15% in PLA using solvent casting method. Addition of starch and modified starch resulted in reduced transparency. Whereas, the water absorption, moisture absorption and tensile strength increased with addition of unmodified starch but reduced when modified starch was added. The soil burial test revealed that PLA virgin film remained as such but the addition of starch improved the degradation of PLA films. The DSC scans showed that there was no significant change in the glass transition temperature (Tg), melting temperature (Tm) and crystallization temperature (Tc) of PLA films and starch based PLA films. These properties and the biodegradable nature of the films make it useful for packaging in food industry, agriculture, medical field etc.