Abstract
Climacteric fruits are harvested before they are ripened to avoid adverse damages during transport. The unripe fruits can undergo ripening processes associated with rind color changes on exposure to ethanol vapors. Although rind coloration is a common indicator showing fruit maturity, the attribute does not provide reliable assessment of maturity especially for melons. Herein, we report the achievement of sensitive and reversible melon maturity detection using macroporous hydrogel photonic crystals self-assembled by a roll-to-roll compatible doctor-blade-coating technology. The consumption of applied ethanol vapor during melon ripening results in less condensation of ethanol vapor in the pores (250 nm in diameter), leading to a distinct blue-shift of the optical stop band from 572 to 501 nm and an obvious visual colorimetric readout from yellow green to blue. Moreover, the dependence of the color change on Brix value within the melon has also been evaluated in the study.
Highlights
Fruits can be categorized into two types: non-climacteric fruits and climacteric fruits [1,2]
We show that three-dimensional macroporous hydrogel photonic crystals developed by integrating ethanol-sensitive polymers and a roll-to-roll compatible self-assembly technology enable on-site detection of fruit maturity
Pores are uniformly coated with poly(HEMA), which is highly responsive to ethanol vapor, In order to further improve the sensitivity of melon maturity detection, the for fabricating macroporous poly(HEMA)/poly(ETPTA)
Summary
Fruits can be categorized into two types: non-climacteric fruits and climacteric fruits [1,2]. Non-climacteric fruits have to stay on plants to undergo ripening processes, which are associated with modifications in fruit composition, taste, texture, aroma and rind color [3]. The fruits cannot gain sweetness and flavor anymore. Afterwards, the management of fruit maturity can be implemented by introducing exogenously applied ethanol, which promotes ripening of climacteric fruits [7,8,9]. Starchy, crunchy and bland tasting climacteric fruits are softened and gain more flavors in the ripening processes. The fruit ripening is accompanied with a series of biochemical and physiological changes, including decrease in organic acids, fruit texture softening, formation of volatile chemical compounds, non-photosynthetic pigment accumulation, and degradation of chlorophyll [10,11]
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