Abstract
Chitosan is a versatile biomolecule with a broad range of applications in food and pharmaceutical products. It can be obtained by the alkaline deacetylation of chitin. This biomolecule can be extracted using conventional or green methods from seafood industry residues, e.g., shrimp shells. Chitin has limited applications because of its low solubility in organic solvents. Chitosan is soluble in acidified solutions allowing its application in the food industry. Furthermore, biological properties, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, as well as its biodegradability, biocompatibility and nontoxicity have contributed to its increasing application as active food packaging. Nevertheless, some physical and mechanical features have limited a broader range of applications of chitosan-based films. Green approaches may be used to address these limitations, leading to well-designed chitosan-based food packaging, by employing principles of a circular and sustainable economy. In this review, we summarize the properties of chitosan and present a novel green technology as an alternative to conventional chitin extraction and to design environmentally friendly food packaging based on chitosan.
Highlights
Natural biomolecules from renewable sources, such as chitosan, appear as good alternatives for the development of biodegradable food packaging
The first is insoluble in many organic and inorganic solvents. This limitation is overcome by alkaline deacetylation forming chitosan, which is soluble in acid solutions
Chitosan is a versatile biomolecule with a broad range of applications in food products, mainly because of its biodegradability, biocompatibility, nontoxicity, and bioactive properties
Summary
Natural biomolecules from renewable sources, such as chitosan, appear as good alternatives for the development of biodegradable food packaging. The alkali/acid conventional treatments of crustacean biomass to obtain chitin and chitosan can present low efficiency and may be considered disadvantageous when looking at the environment and labor conditions. Sorbitol, polyethylene glycols (PEG), lipids and their derivatives are the most used plasticizers to biobased films, novel sustainable alternatives, e.g., deep eutectic solvents (DES), have been used [8,9,10] These sustainable substances are obtained by complexation of a hydrogen bond donor (HBD) with a quaternary ammonium salt (hydrogen bond acceptor—HBA), producing liquids with physical and solvent properties analogue to ionic liquids (ILs) [11,12]. As the deacetylated derivative chitosan is a bioactive molecule that can be used in several industrial processes, its biological properties and novel green technologies to design environmentally friendly food packaging are reviewed
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