A new nano-sachet manufactured by solution blow spinning to retard ripening of bananas using biodegradable nanostructured polymeric mats emitting 1-methylcyclopropene

Abstract

The aim of this study was to produce nanostructured poly (lactic acid) (PLA) mats incorporated with the 1-MCP/α-CD complex (F1-MCP) by the solution blow spinning (SBS) technique and to apply them as a nano-sachet emitting 1-MCP in a banana packaging system. The nanofibers that comprise the mats presented uniform morphology with diameters between 157 and 184 nm. Scanning electron microscopy showed that crystals of 1-MCP/α-CD were encapsulated and found on the nanofibers' surface, changing their thermal properties and contact angles. The release of 1-MCP gas from the nano-sachet of nanostructured PLA mats with encapsulated 1-MCP/α-CD was proven based on the delay of banana ripening during storage (21 °C and 90 % RH). Therefore, the nanostructured PLA mats with encapsulated MCP/α-CD, produced by SBS, proved viable and applicable in packaging systems that aim to delay ripening and increase the postharvest shelf life of climacteric fruit, such as bananas.