PLA-*g*-Nitrilotriacetic Acid (PLA-*g*-NTA)

In the field of "green packaging", it is desirable to have non-migratory, metal-chelating and biodegradable materials. To this end, metal-chelated nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) was grafted onto PLA using a classical radical mechanism, as shown in Figure 19 [96]. The grafting was evidenced by ATR-FTIR and XPS. Significant radical scavenging and metalchelating efficacies as well as the ability to delay the degradation of ascorbic acid showed the antioxidant capacity of PLA-*g*-NTA. However, this NTA grafting was not followed by any polymer grafting, even if the grafted carboxylic acids are functional groups.
