Eco-friendly biorefractory films of gelatin and TEMPO-oxidized cellulose ester for food packaging application

Insights into the effect of carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals on mechanical and barrier properties of gelatin films for flexible packaging applications

In this study, gelatin/carboxylated cellulose nanocrystal (cCNC) bionanocomposite films were developed as an eco-friendly alternative to non-biodegradable flexible plastic packaging. Cellulose nanocrystals were modified by 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-mediated oxidation (cCNC) to strategically interact with amino groups present in the gelatin macromolecular backbone. Gelatin/cCNC bionanocomposite films (0.5-6.0 wt% cCNC) obtained by solution casting were transparent to visible light while displayed high UV-blocking properties. The chemical compatibility between gelatin and cCNC was deepened by electrostatic COO-/NH3+ interactions, as detected by FTIR spectroscopy and morphologically indicated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Accordingly, Young's modulus and tensile strength of films were largely increased by 80 and 64 %, respectively, specifically near the cCNC percolation threshold (4 wt%), whereas the water vapor permeability (WVP) was reduced by 52 % at the optimum 6.0 wt% cCNC content in relation to the non-reinforced gelatin matrix (0.10 vs. 0.18 g H2O mm m-2 h-1 kPa-1). The oxygen transmission rates (OTR) of the gelatin/cCNC bionanocomposites were < 0.01 cm3 m-2 day-1, making them technically competitive to most promising biopolymers like polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA). This study reveals how TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanocrystals can broaden the performance of biodegradable gelatin films for use in packaging. The gelatin/cCNC bionanocomposites also represent an effective approach for designing newly sustainability-inspired flexible materials from the surface modification of nanocelluloses targeting specific interactions with protein structures.

Recent advances in TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers: Oxidation mechanism, characterization, properties and applications

Cellulose is the richest renewable polymer source on the earth. TEMPO-mediated oxidized cellulose nanofibers are deduced from enormously available wood biomass and functionalized with carboxyl groups. The preparation procedure of TOCNFs is more environmentally friendly compared to other cellulose, for example, MFC and CNCs. Due to the presence of functional carboxyl groups, TOCNF-based materials have been studied widely in different fields, including biomedicine, wastewater treatment, bioelectronics and others. In this review, the TEMPO oxidation mechanism, the properties and applications of TOCNFs are elaborated. Most importantly, the recent advanced applications and the beneficial role of TOCNFs in the various abovementioned fields are discussed. Furthermore, the performances and research progress on the fabrication of TOCNFs are summarized. It is expected that this timely review will help further research on the invention of novel material from TOCNFs and its applications in different advanced fields, including biomedicine, bioelectronics, wastewater treatment, and the energy sector.

Selective Oxidation of Cellulose-A Multitask Platform with Significant Environmental Impact

Raw cellulose, or even agro-industrial waste, have been extensively used for environmental applications, namely industrial water decontamination, due to their effectiveness, availability, and low production cost. This was a response to the increasing societal demand for fresh water, which made the purification of wastewater one of the major research issue for both academic and industrial R&D communities. Cellulose has undergone various derivatization reactions in order to change the cellulose surface charge density, a prerequisite condition to delaminate fibers down to nanometric fibrils through a low-energy process, and to obtain products with various structures and properties able to undergo further processing. Selective oxidation of cellulose, one of the most important methods of chemical modification, turned out to be a multitask platform to obtain new high-performance, versatile, cellulose-based materials, with many other applications aside from the environmental ones: in biomedical engineering and healthcare, energy storage, barrier and sensing applications, food packaging, etc. Various methods of selective oxidation have been studied, but among these, (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl) (TEMPO)-mediated and periodate oxidation reactions have attracted more interest due to their enhanced regioselectivity, high yield and degree of substitution, mild conditions, and the possibility to further process the selectively oxidized cellulose into new materials with more complex formulations. This study systematically presents the main methods commonly used for the selective oxidation of cellulose and provides a survey of the most recent reports on the environmental applications of oxidized cellulose, such as the removal of heavy metals, dyes, and other organic pollutants from the wastewater.

Effect of Low Concentration of SiO2 Nanoparticles on Grape Seed Essential Oil/PBAT Composite Films for Sustainable Food Packaging Application

Active packaging material has been used in the food industry to maintain the quality of packaged foods. The use of conventional polymers has serious environmental consequences due to improper disposal or recycling methods. Therefore, active packaging films based on biopolymers have been developed due to their excellent biocompatibility, degradability, and eco-friendliness. Amongst all essential oils, grape seed oil is considered to be a promising antimicrobial agent. It comprises large quantities of flavonoids, tocopherols, and other antimicrobial compounds. Grape seed essential oil has good antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. As a film, it is used to preserve food items such as poultry products, fish, and tomatoes. This work aimed to develop a polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) biocomposite film incorporated with natural grape seed essential oil (GEO) in addition to silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) using the solution casting process. To achieve the desired packaging properties of the prepared PBAT-based film, the concentrations of grape seed essential oil as a plasticizer and nanosilica as a filler material were varied. The optical, physical, barrier, mechanical, surface hydrophobicity, and antibacterial properties of the PBAT/GEO/SiO2NP films were assessed. The FT-IR and XRD results indicated that GEO had effective miscibility with the PBAT/SiO2NP matrix. The addition of GEO increased the film flexibility, opacity, and antimicrobial activity, but the incorporation of SiO2NPs in the PBAT/GEO blend increased the tensile strength, thermal stability, and antimicrobial activities. The PBAT/GEO/SiO2NP films exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against food spoilage microorganisms. Finally, due to improved antimicrobial activities, film flexibility, optical, and heat resistance properties, the PBAT/GEO/NP nanocomposite films were found to have high potential for usage in active food packaging applications.

Eco-friendly gelatin films with rosin-grafted cellulose nanocrystals for antimicrobial packaging

We report on gelatin films incorporating rosin-grafted cellulose nanocrystals (r-CNCs), which fulfill the most relevant requirements for antimicrobial packaging applications. Transparent gelatin/r-CNCs bionanocomposite films (0.5-6 wt% r-CNCs) were obtained by solution casting and displayed high UV-barrier properties, which were superior to the most used plastic packaging films. The gelatin/r-CNCs films exhibited a moderate water vapor permeability (0.09 g mm/m² h kPa), and high tensile strength (40 MPa) and Young's modulus (1.9 GPa). The r-CNCs were more efficient in improving the optical, water vapor barrier and tensile properties of gelatin films than conventional CNCs. Grafting of rosin on CNCs resulted in an antimicrobial nanocellulose that inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The antibacterial properties of r-CNCs were sustained in the gelatin films, as demonstrated by agar diffusion tests and proof-of-principle experiments involving cheese storage. Overall, the incorporation of r-CNCs as active fillers in gelatin films is a suitable approach for producing novel eco-friendly, antimicrobial packaging materials.

Properties and characterization of thyme essential oil incorporated collagen hydrolysate films extracted from hide fleshing wastes for active packaging

In this investigation, collagen hydrolysate (CH) films extracted from hide fleshing wastes were successfully developed using solvent casting method by incorporating different concentrations of thyme essential oil (TO) (2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%) into the CH. Depending on the concentration of TO, thickness, tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (EAB), film solubility (FS), color, opacity, light transmittance, and thermal properties varied. Addition of TO resulted in the increases in the thickness, EAB (%), and light barrier performance of CH-TO films while there was a significant decrease in TS and FS of the CH films (p ≤ 0.05). According to our findings, the increment of TO content induced higher lightness and yellowness but lower redness values compared to CH film. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was conducted to determine the molecular changes and interactions between CH extracted from hide fleshing wastes and TO. In order to analyze the thermal behavior of the films, differential scanning calorimetry analysis was conducted. Moreover, the structure-property relationships of CH and TO were examined by scanning electron microscopy and a reduction in the compact and homogenous structures of the films containing TO was observed. Promising results have been obtained showing that CH-based films can be used for active packaging purposes, thereby contributing to a significant reduction in the environmental impact of both leather solid waste and plastic packaging materials.

Visible-Light-Driven Water-Fueled Ecofriendly Micromotors Based on Iron Phthalocyanine for Highly Efficient Organic Pollutant Degradation

The light-driven micromotor has been demonstrated to have great potential in the environmental remediation field. However, it is still challenging to develop highly efficient, ecofriendly, and visible-light-powered micromotors for organic pollutant degradation. In this paper, we report an ecofriendly micromotor based on iron phthalocyanine (FePc) and gelatin, which exhibits the visible-light-driven self-propulsion behavior using water fuel based on the photocatalytic reaction and self-diffusiophoresis mechanism. Fast motion behavior is observed which induces the rapid agitation of the solution. This, together with the excellent photocatalytic activity, makes the FePc-based micromotor highly efficient when utilized in the degradation of organic pollutants with a normalized reaction rate constant of 2.49 × 10^-2 L m^-2 s^-1, which is by far the fastest and is far superior than the stationary counterpart. The external fuel-free propulsion and the high efficiency in pollutant degradation make the current micromotor potentially attractive for environmental remediation.

The adsorption of phosphate-buffered saline to model films composed of nanofibrillated cellulose and gelatin

Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) adsorption on model films composed of gelatin and nanofibrillated celluloses (NFCs) with different aldehyde and carboxyl contents was studied by means of the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) technique in this study. The results showed that frequency shift (Δ f) due to PBS adsorption increased with increasing gelatin content to 50% in NFC-containing films. The dissipation shift and adsorption rate of PBS followed the same trend. Model films with NFC-1 having 1.22 mmol/g aldehyde and 0.6 mmol/g carboxyl groups adsorbed more PBS than those consisting of NFC-2 with 0.25 mmol/g aldehyde and 1.15 mmol/g carboxyl groups except for film composed of 50% gelatin. However, adsorption rate of PBS was found to be slower for NFC-1 containing film because the acetal and amidol bonds formed by functional groups in the network of cellulose and gelatin needed more time to let PBS migrate into the films.