Using Biodegradable Films and Coatings for Food Packaging Materials

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 February 2026) | Viewed by 1781

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto Universitario de Ingeniería de Alimentos para el Desarrollo, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: natural antimicrobials; natural antioxidants; food coatings; edible films; packaging materials; chitosan; starch; biodegradable polyesters
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Food Engineering for Development, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
Interests: food preservation; active food packaging; multilayer materials; biodegradable/compostable polymers; antimicrobial compounds; release kinetics of active compounds; encapsulation techniques; biodegradation studies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Developing sustainable, biodegradable food packaging materials that allow the negative impact of plastic accumulation on marine and terrestrial ecosystems to be reduced is one of the current goals of the food industry. We can improve such materials by incorporating active ingredients with antioxidant and/or antimicrobial activity, which contribute significantly to extending food shelf-life and reducing food waste. Moreover, the enhanced functionality of the developed materials could help mitigate the effect of the possible higher costs of using biodegradable polymers. Therefore, this Special Issue aims to cover innovative research lines regarding the development of biodegradable films and coatings for food packaging materials, such as (i) innovative food packaging materials obtained from renewable sources; (ii) active films and coatings; and (iii) the encapsulation and controlled release of active ingredients incorporated into films and coatings. This Special Issue will also cover the technological and economic aspects of the industrial scale-up of biodegradable packaging materials.

Prof. Dr. Maria Vargas
Prof. Dr. Amparo Chiralt
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2900 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

  • biopolymer
  • natural antioxidant
  • natural antimicrobial
  • biodegradable packaging
  • active films

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

24 pages, 13852 KB  
Article
Ternary Interactions of Starch, Protein, and Polyphenols in Constructing Composite Thermoplastic Starch-Based Edible Packaging: Optimization of Preparation Techniques and Investigation of Film-Formation Mechanisms
by Anna Wang, Jingyuan Zhang and Ligen Wu
Foods 2026, 15(1), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods15010036 - 22 Dec 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1176
Abstract
Biodegradable starch-based films often suffer from insufficient mechanical strength, which limits their practical applications. To enhance film performance, this study optimized the preparation of composite thermoplastic starch (CTPS) films composed of corn starch, sorbitol, whey protein isolate (WPI), and gallic acid (GA). The [...] Read more.
Biodegradable starch-based films often suffer from insufficient mechanical strength, which limits their practical applications. To enhance film performance, this study optimized the preparation of composite thermoplastic starch (CTPS) films composed of corn starch, sorbitol, whey protein isolate (WPI), and gallic acid (GA). The optimized formulation—0.074 g/mL corn starch, 47.5% sorbitol, 5.6% WPI, and 2.0 mg/mL GA—yielded films with a tensile strength of 3.11 ± 0.31 MPa and an elongation at break of 43.35 ± 0.69%, achieving a desirable balance between flexibility and strength. Mechanistic investigations using in situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and molecular docking revealed a ternary interaction system among starch, WPI, and GA. These components primarily interacted through hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces. Such non-covalent interactions enhanced the short-range molecular ordering of the starch matrix, stabilized the secondary structure of WPI, and facilitated water redistribution during film formation. The resulting interaction network among starch, proteins, and polyphenols significantly improved the mechanical properties and antioxidant capacity of the CTPS films. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Using Biodegradable Films and Coatings for Food Packaging Materials)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop