A novel antioxidant and antimicrobial food packaging based on Eudragit ®/collagen electrospun nanofiber incorporated with bitter orange peel essential oil

Abstract

A novel nanofiber for potential use in food packaging was developed by blending Eudragit ® (Eu) and collagen (Co) at varying ratios. Among these blends, Eu/Co nanofiber with a 70:30 ratio was identified as the optimal composition due to its bead-free morphology, fine fiber diameter (279.6 nm), high tensile stress (6.9 MPa), desirable water contact angle (WCA) of 72.18°, low water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of 423.51 g/m2 × 24 h, and favorable porosity (65.4%). To further enhance its properties, bitter orange peel essential oil (BE) (up to 100 μL/mL) was incorporated into the optimal blend, resulting in a reduced fiber diameter (211.6 nm), increased tensile stress (8.5 MPa), and enhanced porosity (73.5%). Moreover, BE induced potential antimicrobial and antioxidant activities in the nanofibers, effectively inhibiting the growth of E. coli and S. aureus bacteria while scavenging up to 50% of DPPH radicals, respectively. Importantly, none of the nanofiber samples exhibited cytotoxicity toward Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) over a 72-h period, demonstrating their biocompatibility. These findings highlight the suitability of Eu and Co-based nanofibers enriched with bioactive compounds like BE for use in food packaging applications.