Applications of Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma: Food Hydrocolloids
A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2026 | Viewed by 1
Special Issue Editor
Interests: emerging technologies applied to food processing; modification of food hydrocolloids
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cold plasma has emerged as a versatile and sustainable surface and bulk modification technology for biopolymers, offering unique physicochemical effects without the use of solvents or high temperatures. In the context of food-related materials, cold plasma processing has attracted increasing amounts of attention due to its ability to tailor the structural, functional, and interfacial properties of food biopolymers without affecting their biodegradable and renewable nature. Proteins, polysaccharides, and their composites can undergo controlled oxidation, crosslinking, depolymerization, or surface activation, enabling the development of advanced bio-based materials with improved performance.
This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of recent advances in the application of cold plasma technologies to food biopolymers, emphasizing structure–property–processing relationships from a materials science perspective. Successful submissions will address how plasma-induced chemical and physical modifications affect molecular architecture, surface energy, mechanical strength, rheological behavior, barrier properties, and interfacial functionality of biopolymeric systems. Both fundamental studies and applied research, including works on plasma sources, treatment parameters, reaction mechanisms, and multiscale characterization, are welcome.
Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) cold plasma modification of protein- and polysaccharide-based materials; plasma-assisted functionalization of biopolymer films and coatings; hybrid systems combining plasma with other emerging technologies; and the development of sustainable materials for food packaging, encapsulation, and functional interfaces. Studies linking plasma-induced structural changes to material performance, durability, and stability are of particular interest.
By gathering high-quality original research articles and critical reviews, this Special Issue will improve our understanding of cold plasma–biopolymer interactions and position plasma processing as a key enabling technology for the design of next-generation bio-based materials with applications at the interface of materials science and food systems.
Prof. Dr. Pedro Henrique Campelo
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- cold plasma
- food biopolymers
- plasma surface modification
- protein-based materials
- polysaccharide-based materials
- structure–property relationships
- sustainable bio-based materials
- functional interfaces
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