Enhancing cherry tomato packaging: Evaluation of physicochemical, mechanical, and antibacterial properties in tannic acid and gallic acid crosslinked cellulose/chitosan blend films

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the characteristics of composites fabricated from cellulose (CL) and chitosan (CS) blends that were reinforced with different tannic acid (TA) and gallic acid (GA) concentrations. The structure and antibacterial activity of CL/CS composite films were investigated with the addition of TA and GA. The composite films were subjected to mechanical, water contact angle (WCA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and antibacterial activity tests. The FTIR results and the uniform dense SEM images confirmed the interaction of TA and GA with the CL/CS blends. The water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of films with 5 wt% TA and GA improved by 23.02 %. The tensile strength of the CCTA-3 film was 27.67 MPa, demonstrating higher tensile properties compared to films made from CL and CS blend film (13.20 MPa). The prepared films also showed increased resistance to moisture and water, as indicated by their higher water contact angle (WCA) values (59.43°). The antibacterial activity of the films was effective against food-borne bacteria such as S. aureus and E. coli due to the addition of TA and GA. The shelf-life of cherry tomatoes increased by approximately 15 days when covered in CCTA-3 instead of polyethylene film. Based on the results, CL/CS blend films containing TA could be beneficial for use in active food packaging.