Kechagias Achilleas, Salmas Constantinos E, Chalmpes Nikolaos, Leontiou Areti A, Karakassides Michael A, Giannelis Emmanuel P, Giannakas Aris E
Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Patras, 30100 Agrinio, Greece.
Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2024 Dec 2;14(23):1938. doi: 10.3390/nano14231938.
Although a lot of recent research revealed advantages of novel biopolymers' implementation as active food packaging polymers, there is not an equivalent effort from industry to use such films, probably because of the required cost to change the supply chain and the equipment. This study investigates the use of two natural abundant nanoclays, laponite (Lap) and montmorillonite (Mt), as eugenol slow-release carriers for enhancing the functionality of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) active packaging films. The target is to combine the spirit of the circular economy with the existent technology and the broadly used materials to develop a novel attractive product for active food packaging applications. Utilizing a vacuum-assisted adsorption method, eugenol was successfully intercalated into Lap and Mt nanoclays, forming EG@Lap and EG@Mt nanohybrids. Testing results confirmed effective integration and dispersion of the nanohybrids within the LDPE matrix. The most promising final film seems to be the LDPE with 15% / EG@Lap nanohybrid which exhibited a higher release rate (k = 5.29 × 10 s) for temperatures ≤70 °C, similar mechanical properties, a significantly improved water barrier (D = 11.7 × 10 cm·s), and a slightly improved oxygen barrier (Pe = 2.03 × 10 cm·s) compared with neat LDPE. Antimicrobial and sensory tests on fresh minced pork showed two days' shelf-life extension compared to pure LDPE and one more day compared to LDPE with 15% / EG@Mt nanohybrid.
尽管最近的许多研究揭示了新型生物聚合物作为活性食品包装聚合物应用的优势，但业界在使用此类薄膜方面并未付出同等努力，这可能是因为改变供应链和设备所需的成本。本研究考察了两种天然丰富的纳米粘土，锂皂石（Lap）和蒙脱石（Mt），作为丁香酚缓释载体，以增强低密度聚乙烯（LDPE）活性包装薄膜的功能。目标是将循环经济理念与现有技术和广泛使用的材料相结合，开发一种适用于活性食品包装应用的新型有吸引力的产品。利用真空辅助吸附法，丁香酚成功插层到Lap和Mt纳米粘土中，形成EG@Lap和EG@Mt纳米杂化物。测试结果证实了纳米杂化物在LDPE基体中的有效整合和分散。最有前景的最终薄膜似乎是含有15%/EG@Lap纳米杂化物的LDPE，在温度≤70°C时表现出更高的释放速率（k = 5.29×10⁻⁵ s⁻¹）、相似的机械性能、显著改善的阻水性（D = 11.7×10⁻¹¹ cm²·s⁻¹），与纯LDPE相比，氧气阻隔性也略有改善（Pe = 2.03×10⁻¹⁰ cm³·cm⁻²·s⁻¹）。对新鲜绞碎猪肉的抗菌和感官测试表明，与纯LDPE相比，货架期延长了两天，与含有15%/EG@Mt纳米杂化物的LDPE相比，延长了一天。
