Bionanocomposite Packaging: Towards the Improvement of Food Safety

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2019) | Viewed by 9681

Special Issue Editors

Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: food-grade nanomaterials; bio-based nanodelivery systems; bionanocomposites; edible and biodegradable food packaging; functional foods; bioactive and smart nanocoatings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: edible films and coatings for food products (chemical, physical and functional characterization); nanotechnology applied to food technology (nano-multilayered films and coatings, nanoparticles and nanogels, all from food-grade materials)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Reducing food loss and ensuring food safety for consumption, free from chemical and microbial contamination, is an emerging societal challenge for policymakers and companies. Food packaging has a crucial role in this matter and numerous materials from renewable natural biopolymers have been exploited to develop edible and biodegradable packaging. Intrinsic drawbacks of natural polymer-based packaging materials such as poor mechanical, thermal and barrier properties can be enhanced through the use of nanotechnology. Polymer nanocomposites, especially biopolymers incorporating organic or inorganic nanofillers have shown markedly improved packaging properties due to large surface area and significant aspect ratios of nanofillers. This Special Issue aims to cover a broad range of subjects, from biopolymers/biomaterials engineering and nanomaterials synthesis to the design and characterization of biodegradable packaging and technologies with nanomaterial integration. The format of welcomed articles includes full papers, communications, and reviews. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Eco-efficiency low impact processes and materials (environmentally friendly, environmentally sustainable, waste-based, and bio-based)
• Novel processing technologies/fabrication methods of biopolymer/nanofillers composites
• Surface modification of biopolymers and nanofillers
• Design of innovative nano-hybrid active fillers
• Physical-chemical and structural characterization of nanostructured films and nanofillers
• Properties of bionanocomposites (mechanical, thermal, barrier, chemical, electrical, optical, etc.)
• Structure–property relationships in biopolymer nanocomposites
• Novel packaging functionalities (cooking, sterilization, etc.)
• Design of electrical conductive bionanocomposites
• Engineering nanomaterials-based biosensors
• Shortcomings and undesired effects of nanofiller-reinforced biopolymer materials
• Bionanocomposites toxicological risks and shelf life studies
• Up-Scaling fabrication challenges for bionanocomposite materials

Dr. Oscar Ramos
Prof. António Vicente
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • biopolymers
  • smart coating and film systems
  • biosensors
  • characterization
  • nanotechnology
  • mechanical properties
  • barrier properties
  • nanofillers
  • nanotoxicity
  • green processes and materials

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 3083 KiB  
Article
VO2(B)/Graphene Composite-Based Symmetrical Supercapacitor Electrode via Screen Printing for Intelligent Packaging
by Jieyu Zhang, Liangzhe Chen, Yixiang Wang, Shaoyong Cai, Huijun Yang, Hao Yu, Fuyuan Ding, Chi Huang and Xinghai Liu
Nanomaterials 2018, 8(12), 1020; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8121020 - 07 Dec 2018
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4245
Abstract
More multipurpose and convenient demand driven by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and intelligent packaging require flexible power sources. A VO2(B)/graphene (VO2(B)/GN) core-shell composite was successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal treatment with V2O5 and graphite. The as-obtained [...] Read more.
More multipurpose and convenient demand driven by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and intelligent packaging require flexible power sources. A VO2(B)/graphene (VO2(B)/GN) core-shell composite was successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal treatment with V2O5 and graphite. The as-obtained sample was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and XPS measurements. In addition, the electrochemical properties of VO2(B)/GN were tested. Due to its great electrochemical performance and mechanical properties, graphene could increase the electrochemical performance and strengthen the structural stability of the material at the same time. With increasing loading amount of GN, the specific capacitance of VO2(B)/GN increased correspondingly. With 20% GN loading, the initial discharge specific capacity could reach 197 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, and 160 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 in 0.5 M Na2SO4 electrolyte, which is better than that of pure rod-like VO2(B). The capacitance of the VO2(B)/GN (20%) composite electrode retains 95.49% after 1000 cycles, which is higher than that of a pure VO2(B) electrode (85.43%), indicating that the VO2(B)/GN composite possesses better cycling stability. Moreover, a symmetrical solid-state supercapacitor (SCs) using VO2(B)/GN(20%) as the anode was assembled. Four printed SCs were connected in series to light up a 1.5 V red LED. This demonstrates its potential application in intelligent packaging to trace food safety. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bionanocomposite Packaging: Towards the Improvement of Food Safety)
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18 pages, 3721 KiB  
Article
Encapsulation of Cinnamon Essential Oil for Active Food Packaging Film with Synergistic Antimicrobial Activity
by Ben Niu, Zhipeng Yan, Ping Shao, Ji Kang and Hangjun Chen
Nanomaterials 2018, 8(8), 598; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8080598 - 06 Aug 2018
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 4928
Abstract
Porous adsorption, a less powerful adsorptive force than chemical bonds, is based on the physical adsorption of small molecules onto a solid surface that is capable of adsorbing gas or liquid molecules. Antimicrobial permutite composite (containing Ag+, Zn2+ and Ag [...] Read more.
Porous adsorption, a less powerful adsorptive force than chemical bonds, is based on the physical adsorption of small molecules onto a solid surface that is capable of adsorbing gas or liquid molecules. Antimicrobial permutite composite (containing Ag+, Zn2+ and Ag+/Zn2+), starting from Linde Type A-permutite (LTA), was obtained in this research. The permutite samples were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), colorimeter and nitrogen adsorption technique. Cinnamon essential oil (CEO) was encapsulated into Ag+/Zn2+-permutite. The FT-IR and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) confirmed that no chemical bond existed between CEO and Ag+/Zn2+-permutite. The loading capacity of Ag+/Zn2+-permutite/CEO was 313.07 µL/g, and it had a sustained release effect. The Ag+/Zn2+-permutite/CEO showed stronger efficacy against Aspergillus niger and Penicillium sp. than Ag+/Zn2+-permutite. Ethyl cellulose pads modified by composite antimicrobial particles were applied in the preservation of Chinese bayberry. Compared to the control group, treatment with the Ag+/Zn2+-permutite/CEO antimicrobial pads resulted in a significantly lower decay incidence. In addition, the amount of migrated silver, zinc and aluminum from LTA was below the legal limit. These results confirmed that the ethyl cellulose pads modified by the Ag+/Zn2+-permutite/CEO provided an active packaging to control decay of fresh Chinese bayberry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bionanocomposite Packaging: Towards the Improvement of Food Safety)
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