Engineered environment-friendly multifunctional food packaging with superior nonleachability, polymer miscibility and antimicrobial activity

Xugang Dang; Songyu Han; Yongmei Du; Yufei Fei; Boyan Guo; Xuechuan Wang

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.142192

Engineered environment-friendly multifunctional food packaging with superior nonleachability, polymer miscibility and antimicrobial activity

Food Chem. 2024 Nov 22:466:142192. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.142192. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Xugang Dang¹, Songyu Han², Yongmei Du², Yufei Fei², Boyan Guo², Xuechuan Wang²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Biomass and Function Materials & National Demonstration Centre for Experimental Light Chemistry Engineering Education, College of Bioresources Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710021, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan 610041, PR China. Electronic address: xg.dang@sust.edu.cn.
² Institute of Biomass and Function Materials & National Demonstration Centre for Experimental Light Chemistry Engineering Education, College of Bioresources Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710021, PR China.

PMID: 39591781
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.142192

Abstract

This study was conducted primarily to develop an environment-friendly food packaging boasting several advantages, including good water vapor barrier, UV resistance, antimicrobial activity, non-leachability, and polymer miscibility. Initially, the starch-based antimicrobial agent (OCSI) was synthesized through a simple esterification reaction between oxidized corn starch (OCS) and indoleacetic acid (IAA). Subsequently, OCSI was further blended separately with environmentally-friendly materials (PVA, PBAT, PCL), and a series of environment-friendly packaging films were successfully prepared. The resulting films exhibited desirable thermal stability and 100 % barrier against both UV-A and UV-B rays. Moreover, the films presented effective barriers against water vapor, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. aureus. Meanwhile, the films could significantly inhibit the deterioration of fresh fruits and prolong shelf life, considerably expanding their utilization in safe packaging. The environment-friendly packaging not only realized the sustainable utilization of green polymers, but also offered novel insights into the exploration of sustainable packaging.

Keywords: Antimicrobial activity; Corn starch; Environmentally-friendly materials; Food packaging.