v Preparation of Pectin–ZnO Nanocomposite | Nanoscale Res Lett 2008 3 491-495 DOI S11671-008-9185-6 NANO EXPRESS Preparation of Pectin-ZnO Nanocomposite L. Shi S. Gunasekaran Received 5 August 2008 Accepted 2 October 2008 Published online 21 October 2008 to the authors 2008 Abstract Pectin-ZnO nanocomposite was prepared in the aqueous solution condition at room temperature. The Fourier transform infrared X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope TEM measurements confirmed the nanoscaled structure of pectin-ZnO composite. According to the TEM observation the average composite granules size was about 150 nm and the embedded ZnO nanoparticles were uniform with an average diameter of 70 nm. Keywords Nanocomposite Pection Zinc oxide Nanocrystallinity Preparation Introduction Pectin is a natural non-toxic and amorphous carbohydrate present in cell walls of all plant tissues which functions as an intercellular and intracellular cementing material. As a secondary product of fruit juice sunflower oil and sugar manufacture industries pectin is both inexpensive and abundantly available. Therefore pectin is an excellent candidate for eco-friendly biodegradable applications. Pectin is commonly used in the food industry as a gelling and stabilizing agent. Pectin macromolecules are able to bind with some organic or inorganic substances via molecular interactions. So pectin can be used to construct L. Shi S. Gunasekaran El Food Bioprocess Engineering Laboratory Department of Biological System Engineering University of Wisconsin-Madison 460 Henry Mall Madison WI 53706 USA e-mail guna@ matrices to absorb desired materials and deliver them in a controlled manner 1 . Indeed pectin has been used to fabricate delivery systems for controlled drug release 2 implantable cell carriers 3 and so on. Zinc Zn is an essential micronutrient critical for human health and its deficiency cause serious and sometimes even disastrous health problems 4 5 . It has been estimated that more than 50 of poor children and .
