Madivoli E S, Kisato J, Kimani P K, Kamau K
Department of Chemistry Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Nairobi Kenya.
Department of Physics and Biophysics University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn Olsztyn Poland.
Food Sci Nutr. 2024 Dec 9;13(1):e4664. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.4664. eCollection 2025 Jan.
Single use plastics are a leading source of microplastics that have been detected along the food chain. This study evaluated the potential of starch (ST) and carrageenan (CRG) in packaging film formulation. CRG isolated from the seaweed (SW) was blended with starch and cast to obtain films whose moisture content (MC), total soluble matter (TSM), degree of solubility (DS), water vapor permeability (WVP), opacity (O), contact angles (CA), moisture absorption (MA), and percent elongation (PE) were evaluated. The films' morphology, crystallinity, opacity, thermal profile, and functional groups were then studied by scanning electron microscopy, powder diffraction, UV-Vis, thermal gravimetry, and infrared spectroscopy. From the results obtained, the SWF films exhibited a higher MC, DS, and TSM than CRG and CRG-ST films but lower DC values. The PE of CRG films was lower than that of SWF (30%) though incorporation of ST increased the PE of CRG-ST. However, SWF films had WVP of 2.25 × 10 gsmPa, compared to 3.65 × 10 gsmPa of CRG, 2.73 × 10 gsmPa of CRG-ST and a moisture absorption of 29.29 ± 3.5 as compared to 17.29 ± 0.87 of CRG and 23.80% ± 4.12% of CRG-ST. The opacities were found to be 41.02, 79.89, and 42.23 for SWF, CRG, CRG-ST while the contact angles were found to be 72.86, 80.93, 65.57 for SWF, CRG, and CRG-ST, respectively. Moreover, the films were impermeable to vegetable oil, had carbohydrate functional groups, good thermal stabilities, and trace micronutrients. In conclusion, this study formulated packaging films with enhanced food barrier and mechanical properties that can potentially replace single use packaging films.
一次性塑料是在食物链中已被检测到的微塑料的主要来源。本研究评估了淀粉（ST）和卡拉胶（CRG）在包装薄膜配方中的潜力。从海藻（SW）中分离出的CRG与淀粉混合并浇铸以获得薄膜，对其水分含量（MC）、总可溶性物质（TSM）、溶解度（DS）、水蒸气透过率（WVP）、不透明度（O）、接触角（CA）、吸湿率（MA）和伸长率（PE）进行了评估。然后通过扫描电子显微镜、粉末衍射、紫外可见光谱、热重分析和红外光谱研究了薄膜的形态、结晶度、不透明度、热特性和官能团。从所得结果来看，SWF薄膜的MC、DS和TSM高于CRG和CRG-ST薄膜，但DC值较低。CRG薄膜的PE低于SWF薄膜（30%），不过加入ST提高了CRG-ST的PE。然而，SWF薄膜的WVP为2.25×10 gsmPa，相比之下，CRG为3.65×10 gsmPa，CRG-ST为2.73×10 gsmPa，吸湿率为29.29±3.5，而CRG为17.29±0.87，CRG-ST为23.80%±4.12%。SWF、CRG、CRG-ST的不透明度分别为41.02、79.89和42.23，而SWF、CRG和CRG-ST的接触角分别为72.86、80.93和65.57。此外，这些薄膜对植物油不可渗透，具有碳水化合物官能团、良好的热稳定性和微量营养素。总之，本研究制备了具有增强的食品阻隔性和机械性能的包装薄膜，有可能替代一次性包装薄膜。
