Oxygen barrier performance of whey-protein-coated plastic films as affected by temperature, relative humidity, base film and protein type

Carvacrol affects interfacial, structural and transfer properties of chitosan coatings applied onto polyethylene

Different chitosan coating solutions were tested with the aim of investigating their adhesion and wettability onto polyethylene film to improve packaging performance and provide antimicrobial properties. Surface wetting kinetics was monitored by contact angle measurements. Addition of ethanol and carvacrol improved wettability and adhesion of the thin chitosan layer. Structure, water vapour, O2, CO2 and air permeabilities of self supported chitosan films and coated polyethylene were determined. The formation of a thin chitosan layer on polyethylene improved gas barrier properties decreasing the Permeability Coefficient for oxygen and carbon dioxide ( [Formula: see text] , [Formula: see text] ) from 100 to 10,000 times. Presence of carvacrol in the chitosan coating layer increased [Formula: see text] , [Formula: see text] and Pair by a factor of ten. Moreover, it influenced film microstructure. However chitosan was shown to be good gas barrier film in the dry state.

Properties of Whey-Protein-Coated Films and Laminates as Novel Recyclable Food Packaging Materials with Excellent Barrier Properties

In case of food packaging applications, high oxygen and water vapour barriers are the prerequisite conditions for preserving the quality of the products throughout their whole lifecycle. Currently available polymers and/or biopolymer films are mostly used in combination with barrier materials derived from oil based plastics or aluminium to enhance their low barrier properties. In order to replace these non-renewable materials, current research efforts are focused on the development of sustainable coatings, while maintaining the functional properties of the resulting packaging materials. This article provides an introduction to food packaging requirements, highlights prior art on the use of whey-based coatings for their barriers properties, and describes the key properties of an innovative packaging multilayer material that includes a whey-based layer. The developed whey protein formulations had excellent barrier properties almost comparable to the ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymers (EVOH) barrier layer conventionally used in food packaging composites, with an oxygen barrier (OTR) of <2 [cm³(STP)/(m²d bar)] when normalized to a thickness of 100 μm. Further requirements of the barrier layer are good adhesion to the substrate and sufficient flexibility to withstand mechanical load while preventing delamination and/or brittle fracture. Whey-protein-based coatings have successfully met these functional and mechanical requirements.

Whey protein-polysaccharide blended edible film formation and barrier, tensile, thermal and transparency properties

BACKGROUND

Films made from different protein (P) or polysaccharide (PS) materials have widely different properties. The objective of this study was to determine whether whey protein isolate (WPI)-PS blended films possess a combination of properties intermediate and possibly superior to WPI or PS film alone.

RESULTS

Oxygen permeability (OP) and tensile strength (TS) for PS-WPI blended films were intermediate between the OP and TS properties of pure methycellulose (MC), hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) or sodium alginate (SA) film and pure WPI film. Starch-WPI blends gave the weakest films. Water vapor permeability values for all pure and blended films were similar. Blended films made of MC, HPMC or SA with WPI had lower transparency than pure MC, HPMC, SA or WPI films. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms obtained from the blended films exhibited a single glass transition temperature (T(g) ) at an intermediate value between the T(g) values of the pure films.

CONCLUSIONS

Whether properties of PS-WPI blended films are intermediate to properties of the pure PS and WPI film depends on the particular PS and specific property. In the case of MC or HPMC with WPI, the blended films reflect the higher TS of the PS and lower OP of the WPI.

Wetting of biopolymer coatings: contact angle kinetics and image analysis investigation

The surface wetting of five biopolymers, used as coating materials for a plastic film, was monitored over a span of 8 min by means of the optical contact angle technique. Because most of the total variation was observed to occur during the first 60 s, we decided to focus on this curtailed temporal window. Initial contact angle values (θ(0)) ranged from ∼91° for chitosan to ∼30° for pullulan. However, the water drop profile began to change immediately following drop deposition for all biocoatings, confirming that the concept of water contact angle equilibrium is not applicable to most biopolymers. First, a three-parameter decay equation [θ(t) = θ(0) exp(kt(n))] was fit to the experimental contact angle data to describe the kinetics of the contact angle change for each biocoating. Interestingly, the k constant correlated well with the contact angle evolution rate and the n exponent seemed to be somehow linked to the physicochemical phenomena underlying the overall kinetics process. Second, to achieve a reliable description of droplet evolution, the contact angle (CA) analysis was coupled with image analysis (IA) through a combined geometric/trigonometric approach. Absorption and spreading were the key factors governing the overall mechanism of surface wetting during the 60 s analysis, although the individual quantification of both phenomena demonstrated that spreading provided the largest contribution for all biopolymers, with the only exception of gelatin, which showed two quasi-equivalent and counterbalancing effects. The possible correlation between these two phenomena and the topography of the biopolymer surfaces are then discussed on the basis of atomic force microscopy analyses.

Effect of relative humidity on oxidation of flaxseed oil in spray dried whey protein emulsions

Flaxseed oil was emulsified in whey protein isolate (WPI) and spray-dried. Powder characteristics and oxidative stability of oil at relative humidities (RH) from RH approximately 0% to RH 91% at 37 degrees C were analyzed. Oil droplets retained their forms in drying and reconstitution, but the original droplet size of the emulsion was not restored when the powder was dispersed in water. The particles seemed to be covered by a protein-rich surface layer as analyzed by electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). Oxidation of flaxseed oil dispersed in the WPI matrix was retarded from that of bulk oil but followed the same pattern as bulk oil with respect to humidity. A high rate of oxidation was found for both low and high humidity conditions. The lowest rate of oxidation as followed by peroxide values was found at RH 75%, a condition that is likely to diverge significantly from the monolayer moisture value. A weak baseline transition observed for the WPI matrix in a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermogram suggested a glassy state of the matrix at all storage conditions. This was not consistent with the observed caking of the powder at RH 91%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed a considerable structural change in the WPI matrix in these conditions, which was suggested to be linked with a higher rate of oxygen transport. Possible mechanisms for oxygen transport in the whey protein matrix under variable RHs are discussed.