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Theoretical Insights and Practical Developments in Biobased and Biodegradable Materials for Food Packaging

A Special Issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944) belonging to the section "Green Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 April 2026) | Viewed by 987

Editors


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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Multidisciplinary Practices for Sustainability (LAMPS), Department of Basic and Experimental Nutrition, Institute of Nutrition, Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro 20550-900, Brazil
Interests: food science; biobased and biodegradable films and coatings; smart food packaging; 3D printing; circular economy

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Guest Editor Assistant
Laboratory of Multidisciplinary Practices for Sustainability (LAMPS), Institute of Nutrition, Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro 20550-170, Brazil
Interests: agroindustrial byproducts; food packaging; biodegradable packaging; 3D printing; smart food packaging

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food packaging plays a critical role in ensuring food safety, extending shelf life, and reducing loss and waste throughout the supply chain. Given the urgent requirements arising from the circular economy and sustainability goals, there is an increasing emphasis on developing packaging materials that are recyclable, biobased, biodegradable, or compostable. Among these materials, biobased and biodegradable plastics have gained a lot of attention, especially for single-use packaging. This Special Issue invites theoretical and experimental studies as well as comprehensive reviews that address the design, development, characterization, application, and environmental impact of biobased and biodegradable food packaging materials. Topics of interest include the following:

  • Innovative materials and technologies for films, labels, foams, and coatings;
  • Active and intelligent packaging for food quality and safety;
  • Functional performance and shelf life extension of packaged foods;
  • Biodegradability and compostability assessment in different environments;
  • Life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental footprint, and circular economy strategies in the context of biobased and biodegradable materials for sustainable food packaging solutions;
  • Industrial scalability and regulatory aspects of alternative packaging.

We welcome original papers, reviews, and short communications that combine scientific innovation with practical applications and environmental benefits to help promote sustainable food packaging in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Dr. Ana Elizabeth Cavalcante Fai
Guest Editor

Dr. Julia Rabelo Vaz Matheus
Guest Editor Assistant

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials 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 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

  • biobased materials
  • biodegradable food packaging
  • film
  • coating
  • foams
  • active and intelligent food packaging
  • smart tags
  • sustainable material
  • circular economy
  • life cycle analysis

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

23 pages, 2262 KB  
Review
Antioxidant Bio-Based and Biodegradable Polymer Films for Sustainable Food Packaging
by Maria Letícia de Sousa Gomes, Francisco Xavier Nobre, Lucas de Souza Falcão, Mariana Agostini de Moraes and Patrícia Melchionna Albuquerque
Materials 2026, 19(9), 1797; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19091797 - 28 Apr 2026
Viewed by 600
Abstract
Antioxidant biopolymeric films (ABFs) have emerged as promising bio-based and biodegradable polymer materials for sustainable food packaging, combining environmental sustainability with functional performance. This study identifies convergent design principles governing ABFs through a systematic mapping of research published between 2015 and 2025, organized [...] Read more.
Antioxidant biopolymeric films (ABFs) have emerged as promising bio-based and biodegradable polymer materials for sustainable food packaging, combining environmental sustainability with functional performance. This study identifies convergent design principles governing ABFs through a systematic mapping of research published between 2015 and 2025, organized into thematic discussions covering global trends, material strategies, processing technologies, and structure–property relationships. The analysis reveals a clear transition from biodegradable substitution materials toward performance-driven polymer systems engineered to modulate mass transport phenomena. Polysaccharide- and protein-based matrices dominate current developments due to their chemical functionality and compatibility with natural bioactive compounds; however, their inherent hydrophilicity introduces trade-offs between barrier resistance and controlled release. Recent advances increasingly employ blends, composites, and multilayer architectures to decouple mechanical stability from antioxidant migration. Processing technologies, including casting, extrusion, and multilayer assembly, are shown to play a decisive role in defining diffusion pathways and release kinetics. The findings demonstrate that the effectiveness of ABFs depends primarily on polymer–bioactive interactions and structure–property relationships rather than additive concentration alone. Future progress toward industrial implementation requires scalable fabrication strategies and predictive processing–structure–performance frameworks aligned with circular economy principles. This perspective positions ABFs as functional bio-based polymer systems capable of synchronizing antioxidant release with food oxidation kinetics, contributing to sustainable food packaging solutions. Full article
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