Coatings and Thin Films for Food Packaging and Preservation

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Coatings for Food Technology and System".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2026 | Viewed by 758

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Food Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya’an 625014, China
Interests: food packaging; food preservation; postharvest physiology; fruits and vegetables; nanocarrier
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Food Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya’an 625014, China
Interests: bio-based food packaging; fresh food storage and preservation; safety evaluation; smart packaging

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food preservation is an old yet interesting topic, mainly involving perishable fruits and vegetables, meat products, seafood, aquatic products, as well as some processed foods. Over the past few decades, coating/film packaging has demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in maintaining food storage quality, controlling microorganisms, and extending shelf life. These coatings/films serve the purpose of food preservation through their various properties such as barriers, sealing, communication, protection, and indication. Of course, emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, green cross-linking, controlled release, and intelligent indication, which are highly creative concepts, are gradually being explored and adopted by researchers. These innovatively designed coatings/films have greatly enhanced food safety and quality, benefiting consumers and the environment and reducing food waste. The Special Issue of Coatings, entitled "Coatings and Thin Films for Food Packaging and Preservation", aims to introduce the latest progress of food preservation coatings/films, the basic consideration of food packaging, and the quality dynamics during food storage.

This Special Issue intends to highlight the latest advances in the preparation and characterization of coatings/films and their application effects in food storage.

Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

  1. Construction and design strategies for coatings/films used in food preservation.
  2. Coatings/films with antibacterial and antioxidant effects.
  3. The preservation effect of coatings/films on perishable foods.
  4. Potential green packaging materials that can be used to construct food coatings/films.
  5. Intelligent coating/film sensors with food freshness monitoring function.
  6. Bionic food packaging coatings/films.
  7. Novel food packaging technology.
  8. Artificial intelligence food packaging.
  9. The migration of active substances in Packaging materials.
  10. Food packaging regulations and life cycle assessment.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Yiqin Zhang
Prof. Dr. Yaowen Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • coatings/films
  • food preservation
  • food packaging
  • antibacterial and antioxidant
  • green packaging

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

18 pages, 264 KB  
Article
Edible Films Based on Casein with Karaya Gum or Pectin: Formulation Influence on Physicochemical and Antioxidant Features
by Jared Hernández-Huerta, Marielena Estrada-Reyes, Ramona Pérez-Leal, Mayra Cristina Soto-Caballero, Nora Aideé Salas-Salazar, María Antonia Flores-Córdova, Rogelio Sánchez-Vega and María Janeth Rodríguez-Roque
Coatings 2026, 16(3), 335; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings16030335 - 9 Mar 2026
Viewed by 357
Abstract
Edible films are food preservation technologies that can have the strongest physicochemical and antioxidant characteristics, depending on their formulation. For this, the objective of this research was to evaluate the influence of the formulation on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of edible films [...] Read more.
Edible films are food preservation technologies that can have the strongest physicochemical and antioxidant characteristics, depending on their formulation. For this, the objective of this research was to evaluate the influence of the formulation on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of edible films based on casein (C, with 1, 2 or 3%) and karaya gum (G, with 2 or 3%), pectin (P, with 2 or 3%), or the combination karaya gum–pectin (GP, 2 or 3%). A total of 21 formulations were prepared, and the physicochemical (pH of the film-forming solution, thickness, tensile strength, elongation at break, moisture content, water solubility, swelling ratio, water vapor transmission rate, color difference) and antioxidant characteristics (total phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity) were evaluated. The pH of the film-forming solution and the thickness increased upon the addition of G, P and GP. The most suitable formulation in terms of mechanical properties was 3C-2P, with 4.96 MPa of tensile strength, 47.53% elongation at break and 28.01 g/m2 day of WPTR; however, it has high moisture content (38.02%) and water solubility (81.51%). In terms of the antioxidant features, 3C-2P films had an average concentration of TPC (106.41 mg of gallic acid/100 g of edible films) and antioxidant capacity (8.28% of DPPH inhibition). Developing edible films with appropriate physicochemical and antioxidant properties is crucial for the proper preservation of fresh and perishable products, as the ingredients used in their formulation can interact and produce synergistic or antagonistic effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Coatings and Thin Films for Food Packaging and Preservation)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop