Quality Control of Nano-food Packing Material for Grapes (Vitis vinifera) Based on ZnO and Polylactic Acid (PLA) biofilm

Abstract

Nano-food packaging, the emergence of latest technology based on nanomaterials, created enormous trust to the synthesis of novel packaging incorporated by zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) in polylactic acid (PLA) polymer. The morphology and structure of biogenically fabricated ZnO-NPs by aloe barbadensis leaves extract were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy. The fabricated ZnO-NPs were hexagonal in shape and 36.5 nm in size. The zinc oxide nanoparticles at concentration of 0.4% (w/w) and 4% (w/w) are incorporated in polylactic acid (PLA) by solution casting method. Loading of zinc oxide nanoparticle in PLA improved stability, film thickness and elongation. The Vitis vinifera fruit packed in the biofilm was observed for appearance, taste and freshness during ambient storage. ZnO-NPs/PLA packed fruit samples retained their original taste and freshness for 15 days in comparison with the reference samples packed in ZnO-NPs/ PLA (4%) at 400C. The biofilm did not affect the fruit Vitis vinifera quality attributes. The decay content, color change, browning index, gases and metal accumulation observations for Vitis vinifera fruit packed in ZnO-NPs/ PLA (4%) exhibited marvellous results. There were no significant differences between the materials tested (p > 0.05). Intercalation of ZnO-NPs was involved in the form of fillers in PLA by solvent casting method for shelf life augmentation of the selected delicate fruit, Vitis vinifera.