## 4 Conclusions  
Our study demonstrates the feasibility of developing biocomposite films utilizing cassava starch and MCC derived from cassava pulp for medical packaging applications. By incorporating MCC into cassava starch films at varying contents and employing glycerol as a plasticizer, films with desirable properties were successfully produced. The addition of MCC significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of the films, leading to substantial increases in tensile strength and Young's modulus while maintaining acceptable levels of transparency. However, it was observed that as the MCC content increased, the elongation at break decreased, suggesting a trade-off between strength and flexibility. Moreover, the introduction of MCC contributed to the reduction in film surface wettability, thereby enhancing surface hydrophobicity, which is advantageous for medical packaging applications where water-repellent is crucial. The starch/3%MCC holds promise as a biocomposite film for medical packaging applications, offering advantages in terms of good transparency, mechanical properties, and surface hydrophobicity. Importantly, our study validated the effectiveness of UV-C sterilization in ensuring the sterility of the starch/MCC films without  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{p{56.9 pt} p{56.9 pt} p{56.9 pt} p{56.9 pt} p{56.9 pt} p{56.9 pt} p{56.9 pt} p{56.9 pt}} \hline \hline
**Film** **Formulations** & **Thickness (\(\mu\)m)** & **Young’s Modulus (MPa)** & **Tensile Strength (MPa)** & **Elongation at Break (\%)** & **Moisture Content (\%)** & **Water Activity** & **Contact Angle (\%)** \\ \hline Non-sterile & \multirow{2}{*}{\(139\pm 6\) Sterile} & \multirow{2}{*}{\(139\pm 6\) Sterile} & \multirow{2}{*}{\(248.63\pm 123.49\) Sterile} & \multirow{2}{*}{\(6.06\pm 2.13\) Sterile} & \multirow{2}{*}{\(32.54\pm 17.23\) Sterile} & \multirow{2}{*}{\(14.07\pm 1.05\) Sterile} & \multirow{2}{*}{\(0.51\pm 0.004\) Sterile} & \multirow{2}{*}{\(0.51\pm 0.002\) Sterile} \\ Starch/3\%MCC & & & & & & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 6: The physicochemical properties of films with and without UV sterilization.  
Figure 11: Appearances of films. (**a**) Non-sterile Starch/3%MCC, (**b**) sterile Starch/3%MCC. FE-SEM micrographs of surface and cross-section of films. (**c**) Non-sterile Starch/3%MCC and (**d**) sterile Starch/3%MCC.  
compromising their structural integrity. The absence of microbial growth in the sterilized films, as demonstrated by the sealed gauze pad experiment, underscores the reliability of this sterilization method for medical packaging applications.  
Conceptualization, P-o.N. and Y.R.; methodology, R.J., N.C., P-o.N. and Y.R.; validation, P-o.N. and Y.R.; formal analysis, R.J. and N.C.; investigation, R.J. and N.C.; resources, P.-o.N. and Y.R.; data curation, N.C. and R.J.; writing--original draft preparation, R.J.; writing--review and editing, P-o.N. and Y.R.; visualization, P-o.N. and Y.R.; supervision, P-o.N. and Y.R.; project administration, P-o.N. and Y.R.; funding acquisition, P.-o.N. and Y.R. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This work was supported by Suranaree University of Technology (SUT). This research has also received funding support from Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI) and the National Science, Research and Innovation Fund (NSRF), NRIIS number 179334.  
Not applicable.  
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.  
The authors are grateful to the Research Center for Biocomposite Materials for Medical Industry and Agricultural and Food Industry for financial support.  
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.