Abstract
Nanomaterials, and in particular metallic nanoparticles (MNPs), have significantly contributed to the production of healthier, safer, and higher-quality foods and food packaging with special properties, such as greater mechanical strength, improved gas barrier capacity, increased water repellency and ability to inhibit microbial contamination, ensuring higher quality and longer product shelf life. MNPs can also be incorporated into chemical and biological sensors, enabling the design of fast and sensitive monitoring devices to assess food quality, from freshness to detection of allergens, food-borne pathogens or toxins. This review summarizes recent developments in the use of MNPs in the field of food science and technology. Additionally, a brief overview of MNP synthesis and characterization techniques is provided, as well as of the toxicity, biosafety and regulatory issues of MNPs in the agricultural, feed and food sectors.
Highlights
Nanotechnology is the branch of science and engineering that deals with the preparation of nano-size particles, i.e., particles with dimensions from 1–100 nm, using various synthesis strategies that allow obtaining particles with different structures and sizes [1]
A thorough knowledge of the safety and proper risk assessment of the use of metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) in food processing and packaging is, crucial. In this mini-review, we aim to present the latest developments in the use of MNPs in food technology, as well as their impact on food quality and safety
Several methods and techniques are available for evaluating the size and physicochemical properties of MNPs, such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, atomic force microscopy (AFM), infrared and UV-Vis spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) [6]
Summary
Nanotechnology is the branch of science and engineering that deals with the preparation of nano-size particles, i.e., particles with dimensions from 1–100 nm, using various synthesis strategies that allow obtaining particles with different structures and sizes [1]. One answer to these concerns is the synthesis of metallic nanocomposites (consisting of several nanomaterials entrapped in a bulk material) starting from natural raw materials In this synthesis strategy, natural biopolymers (e.g., starch, agar, gelatin, chitosan and cellulose [11]) are combined with one or more different types of MNP, and act as vehicles for the particles, and give rise to hybrid systems with specific characteristics, such as large surface areas, ordered crystalline structures and highly regularized pores [11,15,16]. In this mini-review, we aim to present the latest developments in the use of MNPs in food technology, as well as their impact on food quality and safety
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
