Nanotechnology in Food Packaging Applications: Barrier Materials, Antimicrobial Agents, Sensors, and Safety Assessment

Barrier coatings are used in applications including food packaging, dry goods, and consumer products to prevent transport of different compounds either through or into paper and paperboard substrates. These coatings are useful in packaging to contain active ingredients, such as fragrances, or to protect contents from detrimental substances, such as oxygen, water, grease, or other chemicals of concern. They also are used to prevent visual changes or mechanical degradation that might occur if the paper becomes saturated. The performance and underlying mechanism depends on the barrier coating type and, in particular, on whether the barrier coating is designed to prevent diffusive or capillary transport. Estimates on the basis of fundamental transport phenomena and data from a broad screening of different barrier materials can be used to understand the limits of various approaches to construct barrier coatings. These estimates also can be used to create basic design rules for general classes of barrier coatings.

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Sputter-Deposited Ag Nanoparticles on Electrospun PCL Scaffolds: Morphology, Wettability and Antibacterial Activity

Coatings ◽

10.3390/coatings11030345 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 345

Author(s):

Daniele Valerini ◽

Loredana Tammaro ◽

Roberta Vitali ◽

Gloria Guillot ◽

Antonio Rinaldi

Keyword(s):

Ag Nanoparticles ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Antimicrobial Agents ◽

Antimicrobial Properties ◽

Deposition Process ◽

Polymer Fibers ◽

Antibacterial Action ◽

Porous Scaffolds ◽

Electrospinning Technique ◽

Sputtering Deposition

Porous scaffolds made of biocompatible and environmental-friendly polymer fibers with diameters in the nano/micro range can find applications in a wide variety of sectors, spanning from the biomedical field to textiles and so on. Their development has received a boost in the last decades thanks to advances in the production methods, such as the electrospinning technique. Conferring antimicrobial properties to these fibrous structures is a primary requirement for many of their applications, but the addition of antimicrobial agents by wet methods can present a series of drawbacks. In this work, strong antibacterial action is successfully provided to electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds by silver (Ag) addition through a simple and flexible way, namely the sputtering deposition of silver onto the PCL fibers. SEM-EDS analyses demonstrate that the polymer fibers get coated by Ag nanoparticles without undergoing any alteration of their morphological integrity upon the deposition process. The influence on wettability is evaluated with polar (water) and non-polar (diiodomethane) liquids, evidencing that this coating method allows preserving the hydrophobic character of the PCL polymer. Excellent antibacterial action (reduction > 99.995% in 4 h) is demonstrated against Escherichia coli. The easy fabrication of these PCL-Ag mats can be applicable to the production of biomedical devices, bioremediation and antifouling systems in filtration, personal protective equipment (PPE), food packaging materials, etc.

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Nanocomposite Materials in Food Packaging: Opportunities, Challenges and Safety Assessment

Composite Materials: Applications in Engineering, Biomedicine and Food Science ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-45489-0_18 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 387-397

Author(s):

Ku Nur Izzati Ku Mohamad Faudzi ◽

Srimala Sreekantan ◽

Rabiatul Basria S. M. N. Mydin ◽

Nur Afiqah Amalina Romli

Keyword(s):

Safety Assessment ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Nanocomposite Materials

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Use of Lemongrass Leaf Ethanol Extract for Developing Alginate Based Antibacterial Edible Films

International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology - Regular Issue ◽

10.35940/ijeat.b2036.1210220 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 99-107

Keyword(s):

Antibacterial Activity ◽

Moisture Content ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Antimicrobial Agents ◽

Water Solubility ◽

Brown Seaweed ◽

Ethanol Extract ◽

Edible Films ◽

Edible Film ◽

Alcohol Extract

Alginates extracted from brown seaweed have a variety of prospective applications such as thickeners, stabilizers, or restructuring agents. Due to its properties as a natural polysaccharide, alginate is very potential to be used as edible films for food packaging purposes. Edible films are developed for food protection being excellent barriers to gases but not to moisture. Incorporation of antimicrobial agents into edible film formulation can extend product shelf life and reduce the risk of pathogenic bacterial growth on food. Therefore, this study was aimed to develop an alginate based antibacterial edible film. Antibacterial agent extracted from lemongrass leaves using ethanol was employed. The study was conducted by varying the addition levels of lemongrass ethanol extract to the alginate based edible films, i.e. 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5%. Before being added to the alginate based edible films, the lemongrass ethanol extract was investigated for its antibacterial activity. The edible films obtained were analyzed in terms of physical, mechanical and chemical and microbiological parameters, including thickness, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), brightness, tensile strength, elongation, moisture content, water solubility and antibacterial activity. Results showed that the higher addition levels of lemongrass ethanol extract tended to produce alginate based edible films with lower WVTR and brightness value as well as higher elongation, moisture content and water solubility. Edible film added with lemongrass ethanol extract resulted in this study demonstrated antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. The addition of lemongrass alcohol extract at 0.5% was considered as a recommended concentration level for producing alginate based antibacterial edible films.

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Role of ZnO Nanoparticles for improvement of Antibacterial Activity in Food Packaging

Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research ◽

10.52711/2231-5691.2021.00024 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 128-131

Author(s):

Saira Sehar ◽

Amiza Amiza ◽

I. H Khan

Keyword(s):

Antimicrobial Activity ◽

Particle Size ◽

Surface Area ◽

Zno Nanoparticles ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Antimicrobial Agents ◽

Uv Light ◽

Zno Nps ◽

Long Time

Nanotechnology advancement leads to development of antimicrobial agents like ZnO nanoparticles. These nanoparticle have their main applications in food packaging. when these nanoparticles incorporate into the food surface, it will kill all bacterias residing on the surface and food become free of bacteria. In this way, food can be stored for a long time because its shelf life is improved. Antimicrobial activity of ZnO nanoparticles can be improved by increasing surface area, reducing particle size and large concentration of ZnO –NPS. Antimicrobial activity increases by increasing intensity of UV light. As UV light fall on ZnO nanoparticles, it increases ZnO surface area and hence anrtimicrobial activity will be increased. Exact mechanism of Antimicrobial activity is still unknown but some processes have been presented.

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Safety Assessment of Active Food Packaging: Role of Known and Unknown Substances

Current and Future Developments in Food Science - Advances in the Determination of Xenobiotics in Foods ◽

10.2174/9789811421587119010004 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-41

Author(s):

Filomena Silva ◽

Raquel Becerril ◽

Cristina Nerín

Keyword(s):

Safety Assessment ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Active Food Packaging

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A New Application of Hollow Nanosilica Added to Modified Polypropylene to Prepare Nanocomposite Films

NANO ◽

10.1142/s1793292021501174 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 2150117

Author(s):

Xu Li ◽

Ying-Jun Zhang ◽

Chi-Hui Tsou ◽

Yi-Hua Wen ◽

Chin-San Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Packaging ◽

Nanocomposite Films ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Hollow Silica ◽

Barrier Materials ◽

Water Vapor Barrier ◽

Potential Applications ◽

And Storage ◽

Food Packaging Films ◽

Thermal Stability Of

Since the inception of research on hollow silica, the use of hollow nanosilica (HNS) as additives in barrier materials has not been reported. In this study, we evaluated the capacity of HNS as an additive in modified polypropylene (MPP). According to X-ray diffraction (XRD), the crystallinity, tensile strength, and thermal stability of MPP/HNS nanocomposite containing 0.1[Formula: see text]phr HNS approached maximum values. Moreover, the nanocomposite had the best performance in terms of water vapor barrier and oxygen resistance. The reasons for the improvement in barrier performance were discussed. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that HNS at a low content dispersed well in MPP. In conclusion, the synthesized HNS can be used as an additive in barrier materials, and it would have potential applications in the fields of food packaging films and storage containers or materials.

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