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Bioactive Gel Films and Coatings Applied in Active Food Packaging (2nd Edition)

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A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 4479

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Aris Giannakas

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Guest Editor

Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Patras, 30100 Agrinio, Greece
Interests: chemical technology; nanostructures in food technology; polymers and biopolymers composites and nanocomposites; biopolymers hydrogels; bioactive nanostructures; nanomaterials; microemulsions; nanoemulsions; active packaging; control release; food processing and preservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Constantinos Salmas

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Guest Editor

Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
Interests: process engineering; porous materials; material characterization; kinetics; mesoporous materials; chemical engineering; catalyst characterization; BET surface area measurement; hydrogen production; stable isotopes; biomass
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Dr. Charalampos Proestos

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Guest Editor

Food Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
Interests: antioxidants; bioactive compounds; essential oils; plant extracts; food chemistry; food analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are grateful to all authors, reviewers and readers for their responses to the first edition of our Special Issue entitled “Bioactive Gel Films and Coatings Applied in Active Food Packaging”. You can access these articles for free via the following link:

Bioactive Gel Films and Coatings Applied in Active Food Packaging (1st Edition)

In recent years, trends in the circular economy and sustainability have driven nanotechnology towards the development of novel and innovative applications in the food packaging sector, which is rather novel compared with their utilization in biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. Bioactive films and coatings based on natural biopolymers such as chitosan, sodium alginate and gelatin, and containing antioxidant and antimicrobial agents such as micro- and nanoemulsions of phytochemicals and nanostructured materials such as quantum dots, ZnO nanoparticles, nanoclays, silicas, zeolites and activated carbons, are finding application in various sectors of the food industry, particularly in the development of novel edible active packaging films and coatings. These bioactive films and coating materials enhance solubility, improve bioavailability, facilitate controlled release, and protect bioactive components during manufacture and storage. This Special Issue intends to provide an overview of bioactive gel films and coatings applied in active food packaging.

Dr. Aris Giannakas
Dr. Constantinos Salmas
Dr. Charalampos Proestos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

biopolymers
edible films and coatings
essential oils
natural extracts
emulsions
nanoemulsions
nanoparticles
active packaging

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 13973 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bioactive Edible Gel Films Based on Wheat Flour and Glucose for Food Packaging Applications

by Argyri-Ioanna Petaloti, Styliani Makri and Dimitris S. Achilias

Gels 2024, 10(2), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10020105 - 27 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1296

Abstract

In order to prepare bioactive edible gel films with enhanced properties, the feasibility of using wheat flour as a raw material with glucose added at several concentrations was studied in this investigation. Films were prepared with glucose concentrations of 0.5, 0.7 and 1 g/g of flour and characterized for their physicochemical properties, including water content, solubility, degree of swelling, chemical structure by FT-IR (ATR) spectroscopy, morphology by SEM microscopy, thermal properties by DSC, gas and water vapor permeability and antioxidant activity. Biodegradation studies were also carried out in soil for 27 days and evaluated by weight loss measurements. It was found that the gel film with the higher glucose concentration exhibits a homogeneous and continuous structure with no cracks and no fragility, accompanied by an increased thickness and solubility and a decreased degree of swelling compared to those with lower concentrations. The chemical structure of all films was verified. Moreover, the increase in glucose content leads to better gas barrier properties with lower oxygen, CO₂ and water vapor transmission rates and increased water vapor permeability. A slightly elevated melting temperature was observed in the films with higher glucose content. Higher antioxidant activity was also associated with higher percentage of glucose. Finally, the biodegradation of the films ranged from 13 to nearly 70%. Therefore, it can be concluded that the addition of glucose to wheat flour in concentration up to 1 g/g could result in edible gel films with excellent properties to be used in food packaging applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Gel Films and Coatings Applied in Active Food Packaging (2nd Edition))

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16 pages, 1528 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Production and In Situ Modification of Bacterial Cellulose Gels in Raisin Side-Stream Extracts Using Nanostructures Carrying Thyme Oil: Their Physicochemical/Textural Characterization and Use as Antimicrobial Cheese Packaging

by Vasiliki Adamopoulou, Anastasia Salvanou, Argyro Bekatorou, Theano Petsi, Agapi Dima, Aris E. Giannakas and Maria Kanellaki

Gels 2023, 9(11), 859; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9110859 - 29 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1105

Abstract

We report the production of BC gels by Komagataeibacter sucrofermentans in synthetic (Hestrin and Schramm; HS) and natural media (raisin finishing side-stream extracts; RFSE), and their in situ modification by natural zeolite (Zt) and activated carbon (AC) nanostructures (NSs) carrying thyme oil (Th). The NS content for optimum BC yield was 0.64 g/L for both Zt-Th (2.56 and 1.47 g BC/L in HS and RFSE, respectively), and AC-Th (1.78 and 0.96 g BC/L in HS and RFSE, respectively). FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of NS and Th in the modified BCs, which, compared to the control, had reduced specific surface area (from 5.7 to 0.2–0.8 m²/g), average pore diameter (from 264 to 165–203 Å), cumulative pore volume (from 0.084 to 0.003–0.01 cm³/g), crystallinity index (CI) (from 72 to 60–70%), and crystallite size (from 78 to 72–76%). These values (except CI and CS), slightly increased after the use of the BC films as antimicrobial coatings on white cheese for 2 months at 4 °C. Tensile properties analysis showed that the addition of NSs resulted in a decrease of elasticity, tensile strength, and elongation at break values. The best results regarding an antimicrobial effect as cheese coating were obtained in the case of the RFSE/AC-Th BC. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Gel Films and Coatings Applied in Active Food Packaging (2nd Edition))

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Review

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26 pages, 4956 KiB

Open AccessReview

Engineering of PVA/PVP Hydrogels for Agricultural Applications

by Eyal Malka and Shlomo Margel

Gels 2023, 9(11), 895; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels9110895 - 12 Nov 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1750

Abstract

Hydrogels have gained significant popularity in agricultural applications in terms of minimizing waste and mitigating the negative environmental impact of agrochemicals. This review specifically examines the utilization of environmentally friendly, shapable hydrogels composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in various casings for crop protection against different pests, fertilizing, and watering. To activate their effectiveness, PVA/PVP hydrogels were loaded with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic environmentally friendly pesticides, namely hydrogen peroxide (HP), the essential oil thymol, and urea as a fertilizer, either separately or in combination. This review covers various physical and chemical approaches used for loading, shaping, and controlling the release profiles of pesticides and fertilizers. Additionally, it explores the evaluation of the chemical composition, structure, classification, rheology, and morphology of the hydrogels as well as their impact on the thermal stability of the encapsulated pesticides and fertilizer, followed by biological tests. These hydrogels significantly contribute to the stabilization and controlled release of essential nutrients and biocides for plants, while maintaining excellent biocidal and fertilizing properties as well as sustainability characteristics. By shedding light on the latest insights into the concepts, applications, and results of these hydrogels, this review demonstrates their immense potential for widespread future use in agriculture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Gel Films and Coatings Applied in Active Food Packaging (2nd Edition))

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