Abstract
In the current study, nanocomposite films were produced based on corn starch:chitosan (CS:CH) biopolymers and the films were reinforced with nettle essential oil nanoemulsions (NEONEs) and starch nanocrystals (SNCs) to improve their physicochemical and mechanical properties. CS: CH at 70:30, 50:50, and 30:70 (w/w) ratios; SNCs at 2, 4, and 6% (w/w), and NEONEs at 0.5, 1, and 1.5% (w/w) were selected as variables. Then the various physical and mechanical attributes of chitosan-starch blended film containing SNCs and NEONEs were optimized using response surface methodology. The desirability function technique for the second-order polynomial models revealed that the following results could be achieved as the optimized treatment: water solubility of 51.56%; water absorption capacity of 128.75%; surface color of L (89.60), a (0.96), and b (1.90); water vapor permeability of 0.335 g/s Pa m, oxygen permeability of 2.60 cm3 μm/m2 d kPa; thickness of 154.41 µm, elongation at break of 53.54%; and tensile strength of 0.20 MPa at CS:CH of 38:62, SNC of 6.0%, and NEONEs of 0.41%. The nanocomposite film obtained can be employed as a novel biofunctional film with boosted physical mechanical and physical characteristics for food packaging applications.
Highlights
In recent years, the development of bio-based degradable materials for food packaging applications has been considered significant due to the various negative impacts of petroleum-based synthetic materials on ecosystems, health, sustainability, groundwater, etc. [1]
The chemical composition of NEO in the present study was different from the chemical composition reported for this essential oil by Gharibzahedi et al [18], which can be attributed to the factors of growing location, climate and growing season while the chemical composition of this essential oil was consistent with the findings of Lahigi et al [25]
By studying the angle at which the X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks are formed (Figure 1b) and the relative intensity of each peak, the type of materials and their phase can be qualitatively identified; amorphous materials do not form specific peaks, while crystalline materials that have a regular structure create specific peaks at certain angles Jarzebski et al [26] suggested that for the dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis, the intensity of scattered light by particles is of utmost importance for nanoemulsion characterization
Summary
The development of bio-based degradable materials for food packaging applications has been considered significant due to the various negative impacts of petroleum-based synthetic materials on ecosystems, health, sustainability, groundwater, etc. [1]. The development of bio-based degradable materials for food packaging applications has been considered significant due to the various negative impacts of petroleum-based synthetic materials on ecosystems, health, sustainability, groundwater, etc. Most of them are cost-effective, renewable, abundant, and highly accessible sources derived from food, agriculture, and seafood byproducts [3]. Such bio-based materials possess some inherent process-ability drawbacks in comparison with their synthetic counterparts, limiting their further implementation on an industrial scale [4]. Employing some physical and/or chemical modification strategies can turn them to promising alternatives to petroleum-based packaging materials. Introducing nanostructures (nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanofibers, etc.), crosslinking agents, plasticizers, biopolymers blending to obtain biocomposites, antimicrobial agents, and bioactives are among highly recommended approaches to boost the applicability of biomaterials for food packaging uses [5]
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