Effect of Low Concentration of SiO 2 Nanoparticles on Grape Seed Essential Oil/PBAT Composite Films for Sustainable Food Packaging Application

Soundhar Arumugam, Jayakrishna Kandasamy, Thendral Thiyaku and Prateek Saxena
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Soundhar Arumugam: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati 781039, India
Jayakrishna Kandasamy: School of Mechanical Engineering, VIT University, Vellore 632014, India
Thendral Thiyaku: Department of Printing and Packaging Technology, Anna University, Chennai 600025, India
Prateek Saxena: School of Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi 175005, India

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-15

Abstract: Active packaging material has been used in the food industry to maintain the quality of packaged foods. The use of conventional polymers has serious environmental consequences due to improper disposal or recycling methods. Therefore, active packaging films based on biopolymers have been developed due to their excellent biocompatibility, degradability, and eco-friendliness. Amongst all essential oils, grape seed oil is considered to be a promising antimicrobial agent. It comprises large quantities of flavonoids, tocopherols, and other antimicrobial compounds. Grape seed essential oil has good antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. As a film, it is used to preserve food items such as poultry products, fish, and tomatoes. This work aimed to develop a polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) biocomposite film incorporated with natural grape seed essential oil (GEO) in addition to silica nanoparticles (SiO 2 NPs) using the solution casting process. To achieve the desired packaging properties of the prepared PBAT-based film, the concentrations of grape seed essential oil as a plasticizer and nanosilica as a filler material were varied. The optical, physical, barrier, mechanical, surface hydrophobicity, and antibacterial properties of the PBAT/GEO/SiO 2 NP films were assessed. The FT-IR and XRD results indicated that GEO had effective miscibility with the PBAT/SiO 2 NP matrix. The addition of GEO increased the film flexibility, opacity, and antimicrobial activity, but the incorporation of SiO 2 NPs in the PBAT/GEO blend increased the tensile strength, thermal stability, and antimicrobial activities. The PBAT/GEO/SiO 2 NP films exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against food spoilage microorganisms. Finally, due to improved antimicrobial activities, film flexibility, optical, and heat resistance properties, the PBAT/GEO/NP nanocomposite films were found to have high potential for usage in active food packaging applications.

Keywords: active food packaging; antibacterial activity; essential oils; PBAT; silica nanoparticles; nanocomposite film (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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