Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles loaded PVA/gelatin nanocomposite films and their antimicrobial activities

[Display omitted] •AgNPs were biosynthesized using star anise’ essential oil.•The obtained Ag NPs were loaded to PVA/gelatin nanocomposite films.•The biofilms demonstrated a significant performance for antimicrobial activities. A facile and novel method for producing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with star anise was performed. TEM analysis revealed the spherical shape with the average size of 10.98 nm and exhibited strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) at 420 nm. AgNPs loaded PVA/gelatin nanocomposite films were confirmed by XRD and FTIR, which indicates the intermolecular hydrogen bonding between polymer matrix and AgNPs. The thermal stability of AgNPs loaded PVA/gelatin biofilms was increased owing to the reduced crystallinity, which correlated to the lower order of polymer structure of PVA during the embedding process with AgNPs. Accordingly, the biofilms demonstrated significant antimicrobial effects with a higher inhibition zone against E. coli, S. aureus, and C. albicans compared to pristine PVA/gelatin.