*Article* **Improvement of the UV Barrier and Antibacterial Properties of Crosslinked Pectin/Zinc Oxide Bionanocomposite Films**

**Karina Dyasti Hari <sup>1</sup> , Coralia V. Garcia <sup>1</sup> , Gye-Hwa Shin <sup>2</sup> and Jun-Tae Kim 1,\***


**Abstract:** Pectin-based antibacterial bionanocomposite films were prepared by crosslinking with calcium chloride (CaCl<sup>2</sup> ) and mixing with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) at various concentrations (0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% *w/w*, based on pectin). Crosslinking with 1% CaCl<sup>2</sup> significantly (*p* < 0.05) improved the tensile strength of the pectin films, although their elongation at break was decreased. The UV-light barrier property of the pectin/ZnO bionanocomposite films was significantly (*p* < 0.05) improved with increasing ZnO-NP concentrations. In addition, the bionanocomposite films incorporating 1.5% ZnO-NPs showed excellent antibacterial effects against both *Escherichia coli* and *Staphylococcus aureus*, inhibiting over 99% of the bacteria. Therefore, the developed crosslinked pectin/ZnO bionanocomposite films show great potential as active packaging materials with excellent UV-blocking and antibacterial properties.

**Keywords:** antibacterial; bionanocomposite; pectin; zinc oxide; crosslinking
