Abd Al-Ghani Mona M, Azzam Rasha A, Madkour Tarek M
Department of Chemistry, School of Science and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, Cairo 11835, Egypt.
Department of Chemistry, Helwan University, Cairo 11795, Egypt.
Polymers (Basel). 2021 Oct 14;13(20):3527. doi: 10.3390/polym13203527.
The principle of breathable food packaging is to provide the optimal number of pores to transfer a sufficient amount of fresh air into the packaging headspace. In this work, antimicrobial microporous eco-friendly polymeric membranes were developed for food packaging. Polylactic acid (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) were chosen as the main packaging polymers for their biodegradability. To develop the microporous films, sodium chloride (NaCl) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) were used as porogenic agents and the membranes were prepared using solvent-casting techniques. The results showed that films with of 50% NaCl and 10% PEO by mass achieved the highest air permeability and oxygen transmission rate (OTR) with PLA. Meanwhile, blends of 20% PLA and 80% PCL by mass showed the highest air permeability and OTR at 100% NaCl composition. The microporous membranes were also coated with cinnamaldehyde, a natural antimicrobial ingredient, to avoid the transportation of pathogens through the membranes into the packaged foods. In vitro analysis showed that the biodegradable membranes were not only environmentally friendly but also allowed for maximum food protection through the transportation of sterile fresh air, making them ideal for food packaging applications.
透气食品包装的原理是提供最佳数量的孔隙，以便将足够量的新鲜空气传输到包装顶部空间。在这项工作中，开发了用于食品包装的抗菌微孔环保聚合物膜。聚乳酸（PLA）和聚己内酯（PCL）因其生物可降解性而被选为主要的包装聚合物。为了制备微孔薄膜，使用氯化钠（NaCl）和聚环氧乙烷（PEO）作为致孔剂，并采用溶剂浇铸技术制备薄膜。结果表明，质量比为50%NaCl和10%PEO的PLA薄膜具有最高的透气率和氧气透过率（OTR）。同时，质量比为20%PLA和80%PCL的共混物在100%NaCl组成下显示出最高的透气率和OTR。微孔膜还用天然抗菌成分肉桂醛进行了涂层处理，以避免病原体通过膜进入包装食品。体外分析表明，这种可生物降解的膜不仅环保，而且通过无菌新鲜空气的传输实现了对食品的最大程度保护，使其成为食品包装应用的理想选择。
