Antioxidant and cell-friendly Fe₂TiO₅ nanoparticles for food packaging application

An emerging technology of active packaging enables prolongation of food shelf life by limiting the oxygen transfer and the reactivity of free radicals, which both destruct food freshness. In this work, Fe₂TiO₅ nanoparticles were synthesized using a modified sol-gel method and evaluated as an enforcement of alginate food packaging film. Pure phase Fe₂TiO₅ nanoparticles had an average particle size of 44 nm and rhombohedral morphology. Fe₂TiO₅ nanoparticles induce no cell damage of human Caco-2 epithelial cells and show no inhibitory effect towards growth of a panel of bacterial strains, suggesting good biocompatibility. Films obtained by incorporation of Fe₂TiO₅ nanoparticles into alginate using the solvent casting method show no migration of iron or titanium ions from films to food simulants again suggesting their safety as a packaging material. Fe₂TiO₅ nanoparticles also showed strong antioxidant efficiency as determined using the DPPḢ assay, and confirmed further in a preservation test on fresh fruit.