Yang Tangyu, Skirtach Andre G
Nano-Biotechnology Group, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Materials (Basel). 2025 Mar 6;18(5):1167. doi: 10.3390/ma18051167.
Nanoarchitectonics influences the properties of objects at micro- and even macro-scales, aiming to develop better structures for protection of product. Although its applications were analyzed in different areas, nanoarchitectonics of food packaging-the focus of this review-has not been discussed, to the best of our knowledge. The (A) structural and (B) functional hierarchy of food packaging is discussed here for the enhancement of protection, extending shelf-life, and preserving the nutritional quality of diverse products including meat, fish, dairy, fruits, vegetables, gelled items, and beverages. Interestingly, the structure and design of packaging for these diverse products often possess similar principles and methods including active packaging, gas permeation control, sensor incorporation, UV/pulsed light processing, and thermal/plasma treatment. Here, nanoarchitechtonics serves as the unifying component, enabling protection against oxidation, light, microbial contamination, temperature, and mechanical actions. Finally, materials are an essential consideration in food packaging, particularly beyond commonly used polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics, with emphasis on biodegradable (polybutylene succinate (PBS), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polycaprolactone (PCL), and polybutylene adipate co-terephthalate (PBAT)) as well as green even edible (bio)-materials: polysaccharides (starch, cellulose, pectin, gum, zein, alginate, agar, galactan, ulvan, galactomannan, laccase, chitin, chitosan, hyaluronic acid, etc.). Nanoarchitechnotics design of these materials eventually determines the level of food protection as well as the sustainability of the processes. Marketing, safety, sustainability, and ethics are also discussed in the context of industrial viability and consumer satisfaction.
纳米结构学影响微观乃至宏观尺度物体的特性，旨在开发出更优结构以保护产品。据我们所知，尽管已对其在不同领域的应用进行了分析，但食品包装的纳米结构学（本综述的重点）尚未得到讨论。本文讨论了食品包装的（A）结构层次和（B）功能层次，以增强对包括肉类、鱼类、乳制品、水果、蔬菜、凝胶类食品和饮料等各类产品的保护、延长保质期并保持其营养品质。有趣的是，这些不同产品包装的结构和设计通常具有相似的原理和方法，包括活性包装、气体渗透控制、传感器集成、紫外线/脉冲光处理以及热/等离子体处理。在此，纳米结构学作为统一要素，能够防止氧化、光照、微生物污染、温度和机械作用。最后，材料是食品包装中至关重要的考虑因素，尤其是除了常用的聚乙烯（PE）、聚丙烯（PP）、聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（PET）、聚苯乙烯（PS）和聚氯乙烯（PVC）塑料之外，重点关注可生物降解材料（聚丁二酸丁二醇酯（PBS）、聚乙烯醇（PVA）、聚己内酯（PCL）和聚己二酸/对苯二甲酸丁二醇酯（PBAT））以及绿色甚至可食用的（生物）材料：多糖（淀粉、纤维素、果胶、树胶、玉米醇溶蛋白、藻酸盐、琼脂、半乳聚糖、岩藻依聚糖、半乳甘露聚糖、漆酶、几丁质、壳聚糖、透明质酸等）。这些材料的纳米结构学设计最终决定了食品保护的水平以及工艺的可持续性。还在工业可行性和消费者满意度的背景下讨论了市场营销、安全性、可持续性和伦理问题。
