High Oxygen and Water-Vapor Transmission Rate and In Vitro Cytotoxicity Assessment with Illite-Polyethylene Packaging Films.

Dong Min Seong,Jeong Ho Chang,Jungbae Kim,Heysun Lee

doi:10.3390/ma13102382

Abstract

This work reports the preparation of a ceramic hybrid composite film with illite and polyethylene (illite-PE), and the evaluation of the freshness-maintaining properties such as oxygen transmission rate (OTR), water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), tensile strength, and in vitro cytotoxicity. The particle size of the illite material was controlled to within 10 μm. The illite-PE masterbatch and film were prepared using a twin-screw extruder and a blown film maker, respectively. The dispersity and contents of illite material in each masterbatch and composite film were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). In addition, the OTR and WVTR of the illite-PE composite film were 8315 mL/m2·day, and 13.271 g/m2·day, respectively. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the illite-PE composite film was evaluated using L929 cells, and showed a cell viability of more than 92%. Furthermore, the freshness-maintaining property was tested for a packaging application with bananas; it was found to be about 90%, as indicated by changes in the color of the banana peel, after 12 days.

Highlights

Freshness-maintaining technologies have been developed to extend the shelf lives of foods or fruits without contamination [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
This study introduces a method of increasing the oxygen permeability by adding a ceramic filler during the film manufacturing process to generate fine pores at the interface between the film matrix and the filler
Before the preparation of the illite-PE masterbatch, the feed rate was set by measuring the weight of the illite and PE exited through the feeder

Summary

Introduction

Freshness-maintaining technologies have been developed to extend the shelf lives of foods or fruits without contamination [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Fruits and vegetables produce unusual smells due to breathing when stored in a package, or ripen more quickly due to the release of ethylene gas, resulting in poor marketability [8] To solve this problem, a laser processing technique was used to create microperforations in polymer packaging films to improve freshness by enhancing the oxygen permeability of fruits and vegetables [9,10]. It can degrade the film’s tensile strength, making it more prone to tearing and allowing the infiltration of external contaminants such as moisture to occur [11] As another packaging technique, many inorganic ceramic powders have been used in polymer packaging films to improve their properties such as mechanical strength, gas permeability control, and thermal stability. Porous ceramics such as silica and zeolite have been applied to packaging films to absorb carbon dioxide, ester, and ethylene gas emitted due to the breathing of fruits and vegetables

Methods

Results

Conclusion