Abstract
The article presents a review of the literature on the use of polysaccharide bionanocomposites in the context of their potential use as food packaging materials. Composites of this type consist of at least two phases, of which the outer phase is a polysaccharide, and the inner phase (dispersed phase) is an enhancing agent with a particle size of 1–100 nm in at least one dimension. The literature review was carried out using data from the Web of Science database using VosViewer, free software for scientometric analysis. Source analysis concluded that polysaccharides such as chitosan, cellulose, and starch are widely used in food packaging applications, as are reinforcing agents such as silver nanoparticles and cellulose nanostructures (e.g., cellulose nanocrystals and nanocellulose). The addition of reinforcing agents improves the thermal and mechanical stability of the polysaccharide films and nanocomposites. Here we highlighted the nanocomposites containing silver nanoparticles, which exhibited antimicrobial properties. Finally, it can be concluded that polysaccharide-based nanocomposites have sufficient properties to be tested as food packaging materials in a wide spectrum of applications.
Highlights
In the packaging industry, synthetic films are used, which are made of petroleum products
A large number of researchers have employed polysaccharides, namely chitosan, pectin, starch, and cellulose, to design food packaging materials based on Polysaccharide-based nanocomposites (PNCs)
Most conventional food packaging systems are developed using synthetic polymers produced from non-renewable raw materials
Summary
Synthetic films are used, which are made of petroleum products. This kind of waste cannot be recycled and processed into another packaging material or industrial product, e.g., fibers, garden furniture, building materials, etc This results in the loss of valuable raw material and the non-closing of the loop [1]. Polysaccharide-based nanocomposites (PNCs) have been explored as biodegradable packaging materials for food products. Many nanomaterials (e.g., titanium oxide nanoparticles, zinc oxide nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, Materials 2021, 14, 5549 gold nanoparticles, and copper oxide nanoparticles), which are used as the reinforcement material, can impart antimicrobial properties to the PNCs [16,17,18,19] These properties of PNCs make them suitable for food packaging applications. A large number of researchers have employed polysaccharides, namely chitosan, pectin, starch, and cellulose, to design food packaging materials based on PNCs. In the present review, a scientometric analysis is initially carried out using the Web of Science (WoS) database.
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