Development of cellulose-based migratory and nonmigratory active packaging films

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Food Science
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Cellulose acetate (CA) films are promising for food packaging.
• Developing transparent and bioactive CA films requires optimized production methods.
• Incorporating natural active compounds like thymol enhances packaging functionality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop transparent bioactive cellulose acetate (CA) films for food packaging.
• To optimize production methods for bulk and surface-immobilized bioactive CA films.
• To evaluate the efficacy of different immobilization techniques for thymol incorporation.

Main Methods:

• Optimized vacuum drying for transparent CA film production.
• Investigated direct infusion and UV-assisted surface immobilization for bioactive CA films.
• Analyzed active compound retention using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), surface morphology by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and surface chemistry by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS).

Main Results:

• Reduced CA crystallinity led to transparent films.
• UV-assisted immobilization showed higher thymol retention (>90%) compared to surface immobilization (~65%).
• Bioactive CA films retained the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of thymol, although UV-assisted method slightly reduced mechanical and barrier properties.

Conclusions:

• Transparent bioactive CA films can be produced using optimized methods.
• UV-assisted surface immobilization is effective for high thymol retention in CA films.
• These bioactive CA films show potential for enhanced food packaging with antimicrobial and antioxidant functionalities.